What Family Truly Means
by FoxDemongirl84
Summary: Elias and Chise have been together for 4 years now and they couldn't be happier. When an event causes things to change will it be for the better and help them both to understand what family really means. My summaries always suck...lol
1. Horns and Pampering

Authors Notes: Hello all! Thanks for clicking on my story and reading! This will be a multi chapter fic. It takes place about 6 months after my other one-shot I posted, A New Level. I want to update as often as I can, but irl seems to always get in the way. This story has its rating because of violence and a bit of lemon down the road...if you don't like lemon, I will be warning of it and will give you the ability to skip it if you like to. I will say, however, that my lemon tends to be more smut with feeling and less of the smut for smut's sake. Thanks for reading and any reviews...I really do love and appreciate them. I have no beta reader, so if you find mistakes I apologize.

I wanted to write this as a short introductory chapter, just to set the tone for their relationship. This particular chapter was inspired by a piece of fan art. It can be found here /pin/560064903654257410/?source_app=android

It was a normal day in the Ainsworth household. Silky was in the kitchen making breakfast, her action sending the smell of breakfast meats and pancakes throughout the entire house. Elias was in the tub and Chise, who was always the first one of the couple awake, had already taken her bath for the day and was drying her hair in the mirror. She stood in just her fluffy terrycloth robe. As she went from drying to brushing her hair, Elias stood in the tub and used his foot to remove the stopper from the drain. Though they had been together for four years now and she saw him naked frequently, the sight still gave her butterflies in her stomach. Why did he have to be so damn breath-taking? Not that she was complaining, mind you. She honestly felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Not only was he loving and caring and a complete gentleman, but he was incredibly sexy and had an amazingly well-built body. Sometimes it took all her control not to act like a besotted schoolgirl around him. On top of all that, he treated her like she was the most precious thing in the world, he spoiled her with love and affection, he spent a considerable amount of time worrying for and about her, he had quite literally saved her life. She felt like she should be the one putting him on a pedestal, not the other way around.

Elias finished drying himself and wrapped his large towel around his waist, he made his way to the double counter that Chise was at. She gave him a small smile and he felt his heart twinge with his favorite emotion, love for her. He found her to be the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. It wasn't just her glorious verdant eyes, soft flame-colored hair, or creamy porcelain skin; those he did find drawing his eyes and compelling him to stare at her in quiet adoration. No, what he found most beautiful about his wonderful Robin was her heart and soul. Whatever god, in heaven or on earth, had deemed to bless him with Chise's daily presence in his life he was eternally grateful to. His life hadn't been very meaningful, in his opinion, until he had made the spur of the moment decision to buy her at the auction house that fateful day. Now he had a purpose and a reason to leave bed every morning and she stood before him, slowly running a brush through her hair. Pulling his eyes away from her, he looked into the mirror. Taking a cloth in his hand he started the meticulous work of drying all the nooks and crannies of his skeletal face. He found the necessary activity extremely tedious and a tiresome chore.

Chise glanced over at him and could tell from the set of his shoulders and the look in his eyes that he wasn't enjoying what he was doing. Most people had a hard time reading him, since he didn't have the ability to make facial expressions like everyone else. He didn't have skin on his face to do so, after all. But, she seemed to never have a problem reading him. She figured it had something to do with their closeness and how much she loved him.

"Does that get tiring to you?"

He looked down at her, "Mmm, at times. Yes."

She gave him a thoughtful look before putting down her brush, grabbing his unoccupied hand in her own, and giving him a small tug. "Come here."

He had learned fairly early on with Chise to just go along with her and discover along the way what she had planned, so he obediently followed her. She was leading him out of the bathroom and back to their bedroom. She then stopped when they reached the bed.

"Lay down. Oh, and make sure you lay in the middle of the bed."

"May I inquire as to why?"

"Just do it." She gave him a little shove at the small of his back and, as he crawled up on to the bed and laid on his belly, she took the cloth out of his hand.

He couldn't see her for a few seconds, since she was standing outside of his peripheral vision, but she came into view as she sat against the headboard, cloth still in hand. He was taken aback when she leaned forward and started drying his face in the same way that he had been in the mirror. It felt very nice indeed on the sensitive bone of his face and his eyes showed his enjoyment by forming a crescent shape, a soft, almost inaudible purr escaping his throat.

She smiled at him and leaned forward a bit more to plant a small kiss on the part of his face she had just finish drying. "I figured you would enjoy me doing this a lot more than doing it yourself, but I had to have you lay down, your too tall."

Her other hand was braced on the bed in front of his snout and he slipped his tongue out from behind his teeth to lightly run it over her wrist, his imitation of a kiss. He sighed contentedly, "It is indeed quite enjoyable, and I very much appreciate it."

Once she had finished his whole face, she scooted herself forward on the bed and began moving the cloth over his long, spiraled horns. A deeper purr resonated from his throat. She knew that his horns were very sensitive and that he loved it when she would trail her hands along them when they laid in bed. She figured that having this much attention paid to them must be very pleasurable for him. She placed a kiss at the space between his horns and moved to his other side to take care of the other horn.

Elias had to admit to himself that having Chise pamper him a bit was very pleasant. He knew that there were times that she struggled to show affection since she had spent so much of her life being shown none. He had made it one of his missions in their relationship to pamper her as much as he could. But, it was nice to have it reciprocated. He was a bit disappointed that it would soon end, since it seemed she was almost done with the other horn. That's why it was a bit of a surprise to him when she set the cloth down next to him and moved out of his line of sight again. What was she up to?

That question was answered quickly when he felt her put each of her knees along his sides, straddling his lower back, and sit on his rear. He was surprised but intrigued and lifted his head a bit to crane his neck, hoping to look at what she was doing. She gave him a light smirk, put her hand on his head, and pushed it back down to the pillow.

"Just lay there and relax."

Chise had been enjoying how relaxed and comfortable Elias had seemed. He always took such good care of her and always made her feel special, she wanted to do the same for him. She had been given a spark of inspiration when she saw how he disliked drying his face himself. Why not do it for him? And, while she was at it, why not pamper him a bit? He always did things like that for her and she liked the idea of returning the attention he was always so ready to give her. Leaning forward, she ran her hands softly up the center of his back, to his shoulders. She followed the lines of his muscles, pushing into them until she felt the tension in them melt away. As she worked her way down his back, she placed little kisses along his spine.

Elias groaned and sighed at the relaxation that settled into his back where ever her hands had been. He had never really experienced anything like that. He had not been touched much in his long life and certainly not in such an intimate way. Most humans were uncomfortable with just shaking his hand. To think that Chise, who had been treated so terrible before coming to his home, was not only willing but initiated such contact was a profound thought to him. It caused a warm feeling to fill his whole body, a feeling it had taken him far too long to recognize as love. When it had finally occurred to him, it had been a revelation and it had changed their relationship. Being able to truly reciprocate the emotions she had expressed to him had been almost shattering, certainly it had been life altering.

He felt a sudden need to pull her to him and show her just much she meant to him. So, he did. Flipping onto his side, he grabbed Chise by the waist and laid her on the bed. He then leaned over her and ran his hand through her hair. She made a small squeak of surprise that was quickly muffled by his tongue, which slide out from behind his teeth and slipped behind hers. It had become the only way they could kiss while he was in his current form, and it had become her favorite way too. After a few moments of moving around her mouth, he pulled away, giving her the opportunity to breath.

"Elias, were you not enjoying your massage?"

His jaw chittered softly, and a small chuckle escaped his throat, "Of course I was enjoying it. I was just showing you my appreciation."

She ran her hand along the underside of his jaw, lightly scratching. It was something that always felt very nice to him and elicited a purr from deep in his throat. She adored that purr, it always vibrated through her and made her toes curl. "I'm glad you liked it. You always take such good care of me, I thought it might be nice to reciprocate."

"Hhmm, it's my job to take care of you. It just happens to be my most favorite job." He made a small, disgruntled noise in his throat when he heard the clock in the hall chime. "Chise, I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of the day laying her with you, but I have that delivery to make in the village."

She smiled at him, "Oh that right, that old lady who is really sick, you said you would take her medication directly to her. I guess it just can't be helped." The last sentence was said with mock sadness, though her smile still lit her face.

Nuzzling her head one last time Elias stood and started getting dressed, "What do you have planned for today?"

Chise had stood and started to dress as well, "I have some gardening to do. I also want to harvest a few things for drying that are running low."

"That is much appreciated, Chise. Just make sure you drink plenty of water, it is supposed to be a bit warm today."

She gave him a teasingly, exasperated look, "Yes, yes, I know."

"Let's go down to breakfast before Silky and Ruth think we are sleeping in and he eats it all."

"Good idea. Knowing him, he would."

Laughing, hand in hand, the two made their way down the stairs and to the kitchen.


	2. Iron and Feathers pt1

Chapter 2: Iron and Feathers pt.1

It was sunny and warm, but not oppressively so. Chise was in the garden, clad in a white tank top, black shorts, tennis shoes, and her apron, garden tools in hand. The task in front of her today was to weed and clean up the lavender and chamomile beds, in preparation for harvesting it in a few months' time. After that, she also planned on harvesting some bergamot and feverfew for drying, since both were running low in the workroom. It would be fairly hot work on a day like today, but she enjoyed gardening, so it really didn't feel like work. She glanced up and noticed Ruth barking at and chasing after the woolly bugs that flew around the garden. She smiled to herself. Even though he wasn't a normal dog, but a Church Grim, he seemed to still be driven by doggy instincts sometimes. She also glanced down the lane that lead to the large, English county home she was in front of. She was well aware that it was far too early for Elias to be back from the errand he was on in the nearby village. But, if she was honest with herself, when he wasn't near her she always felt a bit lonely. She shook herself from her thoughts. She had work to do and set herself to the task at hand.

It was an hour later. She had finished all the weeding and pruning in good time and decided that she deserved a small break to cool off. She sat with her back against one of the tall trees that dotted the property with her tennis shoes off, feet resting in the cool grass. Ruth sat next to her, his long, silky tail swishing lazily around, a sleepy look in his eyes.

"Ruth, stop acting so sleepy! It's going to rub off on me and I still have work to do."

"I can't help it. It's so nice and sunny, perfect napping weather!"

Chise gave him a mock glare, "Lazy dog."

She stretched and took a long drink from her bottle of water. It was a special bottle that Elias had put a spell on, it always was full and always at the temperature that person holding it wanted. It was nice and cool and had an invigorating effect on her. She had just made her mind up to get back to work, when a shadow fell over her. Immediately, she knew it wasn't Elias, it was too small, and he would never sneak up on her like that. As she looked up to see who it could be, she felt an unfamiliar surge of magical energy. Before she had time to react, a rough looking staff slammed down with a powerful force directly onto Ruth's head. Chise felt the blow in her own head and her vision swam, but she jumped up to try and reach Ruth. She was pushed back down to the ground hard. A loud snap reverberated through the air and searing pain shot up from her ankle, she tried to cry out, but only managed a low moan. Her brain was foggy, and she could tell she was close to losing consciousness.

Just as she was slipping into darkness, the person above her finally spoke, it was a man, "Finally! Should have knocked out with your familiar! Just shows what a pow..."

What brought Chise back to consciousness was a branch hitting her in the face. It stung, and her instinctual reaction was to cover her face with her hands. However, she was unable to move her arms or her hands. Her bright green eyes fluttered open and she was momentarily blinded by the sun. When she was finally able to see, she realized the reason she was unable to move her arms. She was bound by the wrists and was being carried by her arms. She had a face-full of greasy, long brown hair. The moment before she had blacked out came jumping into her mind and she began to struggle. Where was Ruth? She couldn't feel him in her mind and began to panic. She struggled harder.

She was roughly dropped to the ground hard onto her back, a knee was rammed into her chest, and a fist slammed into her face. Chise cried out in pain and looked up at the person on top of her. He was a large man, tall with shoulder length, greasy brown hair. His eyes were dark brown, but held no warmth, instead they reflected malice and irritation. His lips were thin and were held in an angry snarl. He wore a rumpled brown t-shirt with a black jacket over top, neither of which looked as though they had been washed recently.

"Damn it, stop struggling like that! It's not like I want to carry you but keep that crap up and I will just drag you by that broken ankle. Might mess up your face a bit, but I don't need you to be pretty, just need the magic inside your body."

"Who...who are you? Why are you doing this?"

"Like I said, I want all that powerful magic inside that body of yours. Seems Thorn hasn't used any, what a waste. I plan on using you as a Slay Vega is meant to be used. I am surprised Thorn gave something so valuable so much freedom and a familiar to boot. I wonder if that creepy monster had some big plan for all that magic...oh well for him, because your mine now."

Chise was incredulous. This guy had just kidnapped her and punched her in the face but had the audacity to call her sweet Elias creepy. She knew quite a few people viewed Slay Vegas as little more than magical batteries to be drained, but that was not her Elias and for him to imply otherwise really made her angry. He had also committed one of her pet-peeves, he called Elias a monster. It made her blood boil. He was the farthest thing from a monster.

"Elias isn't creepy, nor is he a monster. I am not being kept for some spell. I am his apprentice and have been for over four years." She decided it would be prudent not to mention the fact that she was also his fiancée, best not to give weirdo, kidnappers too much information.

The man barked out a harsh, mirthless laugh, "He couldn't possibly be so dumb as to keep a Slay Vega for anything other than a source of magic! How cute! He must have lied to you to keep you compliant, though the fact that he allows you to call him by his name is taking the joke a bit too far. Just know that I will not tolerate such ridiculousness, you will call me master. Now, I really do not feel like carrying you... hm... maybe a levitation spell... mmm... it can't be helped, I am going to have to use him."

He sat up a bit straighter, causing his knee to push painfully into her chest, and snapped his fingers twice, "Servant, come."

Chise was baffled. What in the hell could he possibly be doing? To her shock and surprise, a little whirlwind of blue feathers swirled a few feet away from them and a small fairy appeared. He looked a bit like Aerial but was obviously a different type of fairy and seemed to be male. He was roughly the same size and his legs ended in the similar bird-like claws. He wore a small pair of shorts, similar to what the fire fairies in the Land of Dragons wore, just not as puffy. He had bright, blue eyes, his hair was the same shade and seemed to be a combination of hair and feathers. He had beautiful blue and aquamarine wings and his pale, white skin seemed to glow with a faint aquamarine light. He kept his distance from the man and gave him a hostile, yet almost bored look, "What the hell do you want now?"

The man shot a gloved hand at the fairy, but he easily flitted out of his reach. "Come here, God damn it! I need a bit of your magic to perform a levitation spell."

"Screw you! I don't know what stupid scheme you have going now, but I am not..." He trailed off as he looked at the scene in front of him. "Wait... red hair, green eyes, Slay Vega..." His facial expression changed from one of hostility to one of pure panic. "That's Thorn`s bride! I knew you were an idiot, but I had no idea you were suicidal! He's going to tear you into tiny pieces! Normally, I wouldn't care if you died, but because of your stupid spell I'll die right along with you. You need to let her go, now!"

The man gave another one of his bark-like laughs and smiled wickedly at the fairy, "You have no idea what you are talking about, Servant. Thorn is an emotionless monster, everyone knows that! There is no way he would take an apprentice, let alone a bride! You fairies and your stupid nonsense! I stole this Slay Vega right from under his nose, and I intend to use it as it should be used!"

"At least stop hurting her! Is it really necessary to beat the living crap out of anything that you lay your hands on? Gah...he is really going to kill you."

" You Sylph and your need to protect women. How else will she learn who her master is? You should know that."

The fairies face showed a look of irritation, "Oh ya, because that has worked so well with how I listen"

"Be quiet, Servant. When I get my hands on you, I am going to teach you who your master is. Maybe, I will slam you into the wall again...that seemed to shut you up before."

Chise was very confused by these two. It was clear to her, by the fact that he was able to summon the fairy on command, that this fairy was the man's familiar. But, she had never seen a stranger relationship between master and familiar. It was as though the fairy didn't consider the man his master, which was very weird. The fae are the ones that hold the oath in their minds. It is powerful and ancient magic, it was not the mage that initiated the spell, but the fae themselves. Why then would this fairy initiate a bond with someone that he seemed to despise? While Chise had mulled these thoughts over in her mind, the two had continued to fight back and forth, the man trying the whole time to grab the fairy in his gloved hand.

Seeming to lose his patience with the fairy, the man gave a huff of frustration, "God damn it, Servant! I am done with you for now. I don't need your magic right now anyway, I have my new source of powerful magic right here." He looked down at Chise with a sinister grin on his face. Chucking darkly to himself as she started to struggle to get out from under him, the man pushed his knee harder into her chest. A sickening crack reverberated through the trees and a cry of pain escaped her lips. He had broken a rib, she was sure of it.

"I need to break through the barrier holding all that magic inside you... how should I... ah, I know." Chise was confused by that statement. She knew, as a Slay Vega, she constantly absorbed and expelled magic, but she had never heard of a barrier that needed to be breached to pull magic from someone. As she questioned what he could possible mean, the man reached behind his back. He produced a long, wicked looking knife. He leaned forward into Chise, causing her to gasp in pain as the rib he had just broken shifted in her side. Laying the blade of the knife on her collarbone, he slowly dug it in. The pain was white hot and searing. She screamed in pain, thrashing around with the desperate hope of dislodging him from her body. He stayed firm and chuckled, running his fingers along her cheek, "Now, now, didn't you hear what I said, no struggling. This is something you are going to need to get used to. Who knows, maybe you will learn to love it before the end." He moved the blade to her upper arm and sunk the tip in deep, about half an inch. She screamed again, but knew better than to struggle, that would only cause the knife to move and make the wound worse.

"Good girl, aren't you smart and quick to learn? I am only weakening you a bit. Then, I can take some of that magic of yours to bring you to my house. That's when the real fun will start." He licked his lips in a way that made Chise want to throw up. What the hell was this guy? Why would he need to weaken her to take her magic? No mage or wizard she had ever heard of had to do such a thing.

The fairy had been yelling the whole time and seemed to be panicking, he flew closer and closer, "Stop hurting her! You know you don't have to, you sick bastard!"

Suddenly, the man's gloved hand shot out and was able to grab the fairy. He squeezed him hard, "Ha! Servant, you're so predictable! I knew if I hurt her enough, you would get close enough for me to grab. Now, give me what I want!"

The fairy gave an anguished cry and struggled in the gloved hand. To Chise, it reminded her of when Mr. Renfred had grabbed Aerial with his iron thread glove, but this was much worse. She could see purple, splotchy bruises already forming on his skin and the aquamarine glow that emanated from him seemed to almost completely dim. This shocked her. She knew that fairies could be injured and could even get sick, but this seemed as though he was purposely trying to cause him pain. She could also sense the activation of a spell, which told her he was using magic to do this, it was not just iron thread.

Without thinking of the consequences to herself, acting purely on impulse, Chise swung her bound hands at the man's hand that held the fairy with all the strength she could muster. The impact was hard enough to loosen his grip and send the fairy falling to the side and out of the man's reach.

He turned his face to Chise, rage burning behind his mean eyes. He punched her in the face, she whimpered at the impact and tried to shield herself with her bound hands. He aimed a punch at her side, where her rib was already broken. She screamed as another crack echoed through the trees, another rib had snapped. He pulled back in preparation to land yet another punch and Chise gritted her teeth, bracing for the next impact, but it never came. His weight was suddenly gone from her chest and she could move freely.

Elias walked along the streets of the small village, glamour in place, and a small package in hand. He was on his way to personally deliver a medication to a very sick old lady. She was unable to leave bed and he felt it was an easy enough thing to bring it to her himself. He always preferred to tell people directly how to use their medications, it made it less likely for them to be taken wrong. Though, what he would truly like to be doing at that moment was helping Chise in the garden at home. He always felt much more comfortable in his true form, with her.

As he walked, people would greet him, usually with a smile and a hello. It was an odd thing to him. Most humans, if they saw his true appearance, would run or call him a monster, but when he was in his glamour people seemed almost comfortable around him. It made a strange emotion move through him that he could not identify. It felt almost like discomfort, but not quite. Maybe he would ask Chise when he got home.

When he reached the home of the old women, he knocked on the door. A teenage boy came to the door and gave him a smile, "Yo, Mr. Ainsworth! Thanks for bringing my Grandma's medicine over. Come in, I can take you to her room."

Stepping through the door, Elias thought of how different Chise was from this young man. Although he may only be a few years younger than her, this kid was very different from how she had ever been, even when she had first come to his home. This kid was brash and loud, Chise had always been so gentle and quiet. They had reached a bedroom door and he was pulled from his thoughts when the teenager knocked on the door and opened it, "Oi Gran, Mr. Ainsworth is here!"

"Oh lovely, come in Mr. Ainsworth. Sorry I can't get up to greet you properly. Thank you so much for coming all the way here, you really didn't have to, my grandson would have been more than able to come and get it from you."

The old lady smiled at Elias from the bed in the center of the room. She was pale and a bit sweaty, she seemed to have a fever. This made sense to Elias. The illness that she had wouldn't have been a problem to fight for a young person with a good immune system, but this woman was older and frail, and the illness was taking a toll on her body.

"Not to worry. It is better that you rest and gain back your strength. I am happy to bring this to you. It is better that I explain to you, personally, how it should be taken."

He opened the package you carried and pulled out a small vial with a light green liquid inside and a small dropper. As he explained how she should take the medication, he did something that had become a bit of a habit for him. He mentally checked where Chise was with the spell on the necklace that she wore. It was something that he did to ease his mind about her safety, which was a constant worry to him when he was away from her. When he realized where she was, however, alarm bells went off in his head. She should be in the garden in front of the house, but she was a few miles away from the house, in the forest. This concerned him for two reasons. One, he had only been gone from the house for an hour and a half, even working hard, Chise should not be done with the work she wanted to do in the garden in that amount of time. And two, they had already planned to take a walk together when he got home, before dinner. His anxiety shot through the roof and he had to work very hard to maintain his composure as he spoke to the women in front of him.

When he finished explaining how to use the medication, he gave the women an apologetic smile, "I would love to stay and talk for a bit, but, unfortunately, I need to be going. I have quite a few things to do today before dinner. If you have any problems or you start feeling worse, please let me know."

"Of course, of course. Tell that sweet fiancée of yours hello for me, will you. She is such a nice girl."

"I will. Have a good day and I hope that medication helps you feel better soon."

He made his way out of the house, saying his good byes to the teenage boy as he left. He walked through the streets towards the edge of town. As he moved along, he seemed calm and relaxed to all who saw him, but inside he was swamped with anxiety and stress. He knew he couldn't shift to shadow and move with the preternatural speed that the form allowed with all these people around, he needed to get to the edge of the village to do that. He checked where Chise was again and she hadn't moved in the past few minutes. _That's good,_ he thought, _it will be easier to get to her if she is in one spot._

Elias finally made it to a point, near the edge of the village, where there were no other people around. He melted into shadow and began to streak his way through the trees. As he drew closer, to where Chise was his anxiety and worry kept rising. He could sense magical energy that he did not recognize. From the type of magic, it was he could tell that this person was a mage. He had always worried that another magic user would take an interest in Chise because she was a Slay Vega and try to take her from him, but he never thought it would be another mage. Most mages in the world knew of the oldest of their kind, those like himself and Lindel, and knew that they were powerful and should not be trifled with

Then he smelled it, blood, and not just any blood, the familiar scent of Chise's blood. She was injured and bleeding, in the presence of some strange mage. Many emotions swarmed through Elias; anger was the most predominant, but fear, anxiety, and panic were there as well. Someone had dared to cause his Robin pain, caused her to bleed! They would pay dearly. On the wind he detected something else familiar, Chise's voice, her scream. He could hear the pain in her voice and, he wasn't sure how it was possible, but he because even more angry. He was enraged.

He materialized a few feet away from Chise and the man who knelt on top of her. The rage in him was so great that he wasn't even aware that his form was starting to change. His second set of horns were appearing, his body was elongating, and thorny vines exploded throughout the immediate area. As the man on top of Chise reared back to land another blow, Elias struck. His thorned vines wrapped around the man and pulled him about 10 feet back from Chise. Elias advanced on the man, intent on tearing him to pieces. However, he stopped in his tracks as a single sound broke through the red haze of rage that had enveloped his mind, a small whimper of pain. Instantly, his form returned to normal and his rage was abandoned to be replaced with care and worry for her.

Chise sat up with a hiss of pain and looked around her to see what could have stopped the man, who just seconds before had been intent to beat her to a bloody pulp. The sight that met her eyes brought overwhelming relief to her heart. The man wrapped head to foot thorned vines and Elias striding toward her.

"Elias!" she sobbed out his name and reached out to him with her bound hands.

He fell to his knees in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. "Chise, I am so sorry I didn't get here faster."

She let her head fall to his chest and let a few tears of relief fall from her eyes. A sharp intake of breath pulled their attention to the fairy, as he got up off the ground where he had landed. He flapped his blue wings and hovered in front of Elias' face.

"Thorn! What took you so long? There is only so much I can do when that fool holds my life in his hands."

Elias looked at the fairy with a hint of surprise in his eyes, "A Sylphid? How unusual. What is one of your kind doing here?"

The fairy gave a loathing look at the man wrapped in the thorned vines and sighed, "I am bound to that idiot against my will. When I saw that he had kidnapped her, well, I knew you wouldn't be far behind. Especially, because he is too inept at his own craft that he didn't recognize the powerful tracking spell on that necklace. My greatest fear was that you would see what he was doing to her and strike him dead straight away, which would have spelt my death."

Elias looked at the fairy with confusion evident in his eyes, "Why would it spell your death? I sense no contract. There is a strange sort of magic, something I have not encountered before. I feel a very weak link between the two of you."

A strange agitation seemed to set into the fairy and he flapped and flitted in front of Chise and Elias. There was a jitteriness to the way that he moved. "Ah, well, you wouldn't sense a contact because there wasn't one. He forced me to become his familiar through a spell. The hold he has over me is very weak, so his control is limited to summoning me at will and keeping his secrets."

"I have never heard of such a spell. How vile!"

"You wouldn't have heard of it. Like I said, he is a fairly inept mage, a talentless hack for the most part. The one thing he has some skill in is spell manipulation. Obviously, I can't tell you the exact nature of the spell, but at its most basic, it is a corruption of the bonding oath used when a familiar bond is created."

It was clear from the flitting and twitching that he had come very close to revealing the secret of the spell and it was causing him discomfort. Watching him flit and skitter with imposed discomfort, Chise's heart broke for him. She had seen firsthand the way that man had treated him and who knows how long that had been going on. It made her think of the dichotomy between that relationship and the bond she shared with Ruth. He was like an older brother to her, like family, but even stronger. He knew her, and she knew him at such a deep level. They shared each other's thoughts, memories, and emotions. To corrupt such a bond for the sake of power made her sick, but even more than that, it made her angry. "Is there anything that can be done? To free you from him, I mean." She had a determined, compassionate look on her face. Elias knew that look, she had worn it every time she had been determined to help someone else, usually to the detriment of her own well-being.

The fairy was taken aback. Here was that human girl, so battered that bruises were already visible on her face, her eye was completely swollen shut, and she couldn't sit up straight or take a full breath. And yet, she seemed more concerned about helping him. "Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but why would you care?"

"Because it's wrong! No one should suffer like that, I saw how he treated you. Besides, you helped me, I feel like it is only right to return that kindness."

Elias had a strong urge to scoop her in his arms and kiss her. His Robin, she had such an amazing heart. She always wanted to help others and use the magic in herself to bring others happiness, including himself. When he had first encountered it, he hadn't understood why she was that way. Most humans cared about their own comfort and well-being above anything else, but she had never been that way. Over the years, he had grown to view her selflessness as something beautiful, but also something that constantly worried him. She would frequently put herself in harm's way for the sake of others and it caused him no end of stress and anxiety.

The fairy gave her a perplexed look. What an odd human. "There is a way. But, you would not be able to help. I would have to willingly become the familiar of another, it would nullify the spell he used on me by supplanting it with a stronger bond. I can tell you already have a familiar."

Chise looked at him thoughtfully, "Your right, I do have a familiar, but... hm... but, Elias doesn't."

Elias' jaw dropped in surprise, but he quickly recovered and gave her a patient look, "Chise, I don't have a familiar because the fae don't fully trust me. I am an incomplete being; no fairy would want..."

The fairy's facial expression seemed to shift between a few emotions as Elias spoke; surprise, thoughtfulness, determination. He cut him off, "I don't care about that. If you would be interested in such an arrangement, then I would be too. What do I have to lose?"

"Wait, what?!" Elias stared at the fairy as he hovered before his face in disbelief. In all his long years of life the fae had, at best, helped him when he needed it, but generally kept their distance. And, at worse, they had shown him outright mockery and disdain. Why would this fairy so willingly initiate a bond that would bring him the same treatment from his own kind? "Why would you be so willing to do such a thing? Do you not realize that the fae will treat you the same way they treat me?"

To Elias' surprise the fairy gave an airy laugh, "Ha! Like I care! They already treat me badly and generally avoid me. You see, most of them believe that I am in my current situation because I secretly want to be. They believe it is my fault that I have been held captive by that idiot. Like I would want to live in constant abuse and degradation, being given the degrading name of Servant. They consider me an oddball because of the ways that I have found to cope with the situation I found myself in. So, what would be my concern to bond with someone who is treated equally as bad? I had always assumed that death would be my only salvation from my current situation, but I do not wish to die. This option is more than I could have hoped for."

He flew a few feet away and in another whirlwind of blue feathers, he stood before them in a human form. He was tall and slim and appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He had an attractive face, with intelligent, older-than-he-appeared electric blue eyes. His hair remained the same bright blue of his eyes, it was similar to the length of hair Elias had in his human form, but was messy in style, which gave him a rouge-ish, mischievous appearance. He wore a blue t-shirt, a black leather jacket, fitted jeans, and chunky, strapped leather boots. His mouth was set in a small smirk and he held his hand out to Elias as though to offer a handshake, "What do you say Thorn? I am not like most fae, but my loyalty will never waiver."

Elias gave Chise a soft squeeze before standing up. "I am not like most, human or fae, but this seems like an arrangement that could benefit us both greatly. I am honored to enter such a bond." He had slipped off one of his white gloves and clasped the fairies hand with his own. A blue light enveloped the pair as the words of the oath fell naturally from the fairy's lips.

Chise watched on from her position sitting on the ground. The words of the oath were the same as those she had spoken with Ruth, but the feeling was different. To her, this felt that they were coming together in a bond of friendship and mutual understanding. It felt just as powerful as the bond between her and Ruth, just different. She felt happy. How could she not? She cherished the bond she shared with Ruth, and now, Elias would have the same thing. He deserved to have such a bond. She didn't even notice the few tears that had formed in her eyes.

The fairy looked up, hand still clasped in Elias' larger one, "You need to give me a new name. Release me from the humiliation that idiot weighed me down with."

Elias looked at him with thoughtful consideration before speaking, "Welcome to the family, Blue."


	3. Iron and Feathers pt 2

Chapter 3: Iron and Feathers pt. 2

The three had only been talking for a few minutes, but to the man trapped by the thorned vines it felt like much longer as he struggled against their hold. He was trying not to use magic to free himself, his own magic stores always seemed to be low. If only had been able to keep hold of Servant a bit longer or that Slay Vega and her massive stores of magic, hell, if he could get one of his hands free he could steal a bit of magic from Thorn himself. His thoughts of escape and his concentration was shattered when he felt the weak connection he had with the fairy break.

He looked over from where he was and saw Elias standing, the newly christened Blue perched on his horn, the blue light of the bonding spell fading. Anger filled him, and he shouted, "Thorn, you bastard! How dare you take what belongs to me!"

This was a truly stupid move, as it caused Elias' attention to turn back to the man and some of the anger that had faded from him to return. This man had dared to hurt his beautiful Robin, had given her quite a few grievous injuries. He was also being flooded with Blue's memories of all the horrible things he had been subjected to by this man. It took all his willpower not to let his bestial side take over and rip the man apart. His voice came out guttural and growling, the rage inside him evident in it, "You dare to accuse me of theft?! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you here and now for daring to lay one hand on her."

The man had enough sense to know that he was staring death incarnate in the face, but still could not fathom what the monster in front of him was so angry about. Perhaps he really had gotten in the way of some grand experiment that the beast had planned, but he had just taken his property, his servant. Didn't that mean they should be even? Maybe it would be better to use some diplomacy and smooth things over with the creature. "Listen, Thorn, I don't know what sort grand experiment or plan you are keeping that Slay Vega for, but I realize now it was a bad idea for me to take it from you. But, you just took Servant from me and you have the Slay Vega back, so let's just call it even."

Dumb...that was literally the best word Elias could think of to describe the man in front of him. Blue was snickering from his perch on Elias' horn, when he looked up at him, he realized he had an almost bored look on his face, except for the smirk on his lips.

"She is no experiment, she is my apprentice and bride-to-be. I should destroy you just for laying your filthy hands on her, let alone the grievous injuries you have inflicted on her. Also, we Magus do not own the fae, regardless of connection or contract. Your shameful abuse of this one and your vile corrupting of the bonding oath is an absolute disgrace."

He took a close look at the man's face. He didn't recognize him, nor did his general description fit anyone that Elias had heard of. "You obviously know who I am, however have no idea who you are. What will they put in your obituary when I am done with you?"

The man had been giving Elias a look of confusion until he said that he didn't know who he was. His face changed to a look of indignation, "I am quite well known. Maybe you aren't as well connected as they say, or possible too much of a freak for anyone to care to let you know what is going on. I am known at the Iron Mage."

"Iron Mage, you say...what an odd choice. Iron is a terrible substance in terms of magic, especially since the fae dislike it and try to avoid it as best they can. I keep very little of the stuff in my own home because it is so detrimental to the production and maintenance of magic energy. Maybe that explains your low magical output and your need to damage those you take magic from."

Blue looked down at the man who had enslaved him for so long with a rather bland look on his face. "The fool has always thought quite highly of himself, even though his skills are subpar at best. He always figured that the iron made him more powerful because of its weakening effect on fairies. Even when I told him he was wrong, if only to stop him from grabbing me with that damn glove, he still wouldn't listen."

The Iron Mage seemed to become angered at the comments and redoubled his struggle for freedom. He was able to slip one of his hands into a position where it was able to wrap around one of the thorned vines. Elias felt the magic within the vine itself diminishing. This surprised him, and he pulled all the vines away from the other mage before he could start directly pulling magic from Elias himself. "What the hell did you just do? How were you able to pull magic from my shadows?"

The Iron Mage had a smug look on his face, "That was one of my most favorite little tricks. I just took a bit of the magic you use to maintain them. You see, I am no fool," Elias strongly disagreed with that statement, "as it stands now, I am lower in magical energy and have no familiar to back me up, I couldn't hope to beat you. So, I am going to use that bit of magic I took and take my leave." With that, he made a large and unnecessary flourish to produce his staff and, before Elias could react to stop him, struck the ground with the end and was gone.

"Damn, he couldn't have gotten far with that little bit of magic. Besides, he used my own magic to preform that spell, it would be simple to catch him, but," he looked down at Chise, who had just tried to stand, only to realize that she could put no weight on her ankle, "I believe I have someone far more important to worry about."

He stooped down and took Chise's face in his hands, "You shouldn't try to get up. You may end up hurting yourself more. I will carry you home and try to fix your injuries the best I can." He looked at the long knife cuts that had been put into her arm and chest, they bleed freely and looked as though they desperately needed to be cleaned. "These large cuts need to be cleaned and I would like to stop them from bleeding any more than they already have. I am going to lick them clean right now, okay?"

Chise placed her hand on his jaw and gave him a small smile, "I don't know why you even ask? I know very well that I don't mind."

He leaned in and ran his tongue gently along her collarbone, she couldn't help but shiver and grabbed onto his arm. Even badly injured and in a large amount of pain, he still made her giddy. He moved to her arm, all the while cursing his own nature and his inability to preform adequate healing spells because of it. She would have to heal naturally and that took so much energy and time. She would be in considerable pain for most of that time, even with the medications he could make to ease a bit of that pain.

"You know," a bland voice above his head stated, "I can easily help you with healing spells. They may be counter to your nature, but we Sylph are quite adapt at that kind of magic. Don't forget, you have a familiar now. No more going it alone and all that."

Elias glanced up. Blue was perched in the same spot, about half way down his horn, small, clawed feet dangling, wings stretched out, fluttering lightly. He had an almost bored expression on his face. Elias had a sneaking suspicion that he may just always hold his face in that way. "Ah, it didn't even occur to me. Any help you could provide would be highly appreciated."

He stood up and gently lifted Chise into his arms. His heart sank a bit at her sharp intake of breath when he applied a small amount of pressure to her mid-section. As he started walking towards home, she settled herself against his chest and looked up at him.

" Elias, I do have a question."

"Hhmm, and what might that be?"

"You called Blue a Sylphid, I have never heard that, what does it mean?" Her lips twitched in a small smirk and she added, "Also, I have to say, that may be the least creative name you could have come up with."

He huffed in mock annoyance, "I was on the spot, it was the first thing that came to my mind. And, to answer your question, a Sylphid, or Sylph for short, are a special type of air fae. They are known in some lore as the Windsingers, since they are directly responsible for creating and directing the winds of the world. They are imbued as birth with knowledge of the inner workings of the world and of many aspects of magic, making them quite wise and excellent allies. I was surprised when I saw him because most never leave the upper atmosphere where they are born. I have only seen a hand-full of them in all my years."

"Why did he say that Sylph had a need to protect women?"

Blue gave a dry laugh, "He has read too much Paracelsus and the modern depictions of my kind. They say we are drawn to protect beautiful women. I just don't like anyone getting hurt. He was also under the impression that I do not possess a soul."

"What? Why would he think something like that?"

He snickered and waved a hand flippantly in the air, "More modern nonsense. The poets and playwrights of the past few hundred years have taken Paracelsus' dribble and ran with it, coming up with all kinds of ridiculous ideas"

Chise gave him a long look as they trudged through the forest toward home. He had an air of intelligence about him, but it seemed like he found most things he encountered boring. Though, the more she thought about it, the more she decided that it may just be the way he carries himself. As they drew closer to the house, she used her mental link to reach out to Ruth, to check on him. Pain exploded in her head and she let out a cry of pain and confusion.

"Chise?! What's wrong?" Elias looked down at her, concern and a bit of panic evident in his eyes.

"It's Ruth. I reached out to him and all I got was searing pain."

"Don't do that again," Blue gave her a look of compassion, "the spell the fool used was meant to disrupt his ability to be a familiar, so that he wouldn't be able to find you. You will probably won't be able to use your link for a day or two."

Chise nodded but looked as though she was on the verge of tears. Elias bent his head down and nuzzled the top of her head in a comforting gesture, "I believe Silky is caring for him at the moment. We will be home soon, and you will be able to see him."

As the house came into view, Elias speed up his steps, he wanted to get inside and get Chise taken care of as soon as possible. He threw open the door, striding through, and closing it behind him. Silky was sat on the living room couch, Ruth's head in her lap. Ruth appeared to be asleep, but when he heard the door shut he attempted to get up. Silky pushed him back down gently, shaking her head.

Ruth huffed, but looked up, "Chise, I... I am so sorry. I tried to go after you when I woke up, to get you back, but I could barely maintain my form. I couldn't reach you with our link, all I got was unbelievable pain. Silky had to carry me in the house, she conveyed that Elias would get you, but...I ...wanted..." He trailed off, a look of despair evident in his eyes.

Chise tapped Elias on the shoulder and motioned for him to bend down. When she was eye level with Ruth, she put the hand of her uninjured hand on his head. When he saw her face and the damage already evident on it, he gave a strangled whimper.

"Ruth, this isn't your fault. That man used a spell that disrupted our link. I am a bit beaten up, but I'll be fine. Please don't blame yourself. Our link will be back to normal in a day or two. You rest, I need to go get all... this... taken care of."

Elias stood and walked to the bathroom. He set Chise down on the toilet and started to remove her shirt. "Wha...Elias!" She glanced up at Blue and then back at Elias, the uninjured parts of her face turning pink with embarrassment.

Blue sighed softly and gave her his same bored expression, "Chise, I have to stay. You know he is rubbish at healing spells and needs my help. He needs to make skin contact for the spell to be fully effective. Besides," a small smirk came across his face, "if I really had the desire to see you naked, I could just use our mental link and peruse his memories at my leisure."

Chise turned an even brighter shade of red, but allowed Elias to remove most of her clothes, leaving just her undergarments. He very carefully put his hands on her ankle, it sat at an odd angle and a large, purple bruise was already forming. "It is obvious this is broken, so I'll start here." Blue's small hand wrapped around his horn and Elias started the healing spell. In the past, he would have used far too much magic for a small effect and would have caused Chise significant pain. This time, however, he was shocked at how simple it was to push the spell through himself and it caused no pain to Chise what-so-ever. He could feel Blue's magic moving through him and it gave him a light and airy feeling. When the spell was done, she still had the bruise, but the ankle was at the proper angle and could move freely. He moved to her side, were she had two broken ribs, and repeated the process, marveling at the ease with which he was able to heal her. Next was her face, there was a fractures in her cheek and eye socket, her nose was broken as well. Those bones were small and delicate and took the longest to heal.

"There, that takes care of all your broken bones. The bruises, unfortunately, will take a few days to fad and you will more than likely have some swelling, especially in your face where most of the worst damage was."

She gave him a small nod as he stood up. He walked to a small cabinet in the wall and pulled out bandages, gauze, and a salve he kept on hand that helped heal cuts. For the first time since they had bonded, he felt Blue's weight leave his head and turned to find him in his human form. "She needs a bath before you bandage her, right? I'll leave for that. Just let me know if you need anything and I'll be back in a bit." He opened the door and slipped out.

Elias crossed to the tub, turned on the hot water, and threw in a handful of healing herbs along with a large scoop of lavender bath foam. When he turned around, he found Chise had already removed her undergarments and was moving to stand up. He reached down and picked her up before she could. "Your bones may no longer be broken, but you still have quite a few bruised joints. I would prefer you not walking at least until tomorrow to give them a chance to heal a bit."

She looked at him with tired eyes and nodded, it appears the adrenaline had finally left her body and fatigue was catching up to her. Elias lowered her into the tub and a hiss escaped her lips as the hot water hit the worst of her wounds, but soon she relaxed with a sigh. He removed his gloves and rolled up his sleeves. She was glad that he no longer shied away from showing his skin around her. He had been so concerned for so long that she would be repulsed of frightened by his other-than-human aspects, but, of course, she loved him, and found his plum-colored, scaled skin quite attractive. He had picked up a soft washcloth and a small bottle of ointment, "Chise, I need to clean your wounds. I am sorry, but this will probably sting quite a bit."

"Don't worry, I understand. It's necessary."

He started rubbing at the knife wound on her arm and, he was right, it stung. But she stayed silent, knowing that it was already probably bothering him that he had to cause her pain in the first place. He moved to her collarbone, that one hurt more, and a small hiss escaped her lips. Her face had a few cuts and abrasions, especially on her lip and near her eye. It was obvious from the wound he had punched her so hard her skin had torn. He felt his anger rise again at the thought, but tamped it down, wanting to focus his attention on making her comfortable.

As he finished a soft tap on the door drew his attention. He gave her a quick nuzzle on her head, "Soak and relax." He stood and walked to the door.

Blue stood at the door, a small pile of clothes in his hands. "Here, I grabbed some pajamas for her. Would it be alright if I passed some time in your library?"

"Ah, thank you. Hhmm, my library? What will you do in there?"

"Read."

"Read? I have never heard of a fairy enjoying reading."

"Well, it's a hobby I picked up while stuck with the idiot and I have found it to be a pleasurable distraction."

"You are welcome to anything you wish to read in there. I will finish taking care of Chise, put her to bed, and meet you there."

"Mmm." With a nod, Blue moved down the hall towards the library.

Elias turned back to the tub and a smile lit his eyes. Chise was still in the bath and was dozing off, which meant that she wasn't in too much pain. He bent to his knees next to her and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Hm, oh, Elias... who was at the door?"

"Blue. He brought pajamas for you."

"Really? That was nice of him."

"Come, let's get you out of the tub, bandage up your wounds, and get you to bed." She nodded and stood. Even as bruised and cut up as she was at that moment, Elias still found her so beautiful. She started drying herself off, wincing slightly when the towel rubbed on her more sensitive wounds. He placed her back on the closed toilet and helped her slide her undergarments and pants on. Using patches of gauze, he applied the salve to her wounds and then wrapped the areas in bandages to secure the patches. The salve was soothing on her wounds and she made a satisfied hum as it was applied. Once he was done, he slipped on her shirt and handed her a cup. "This will help ease your pain, as well as help you sleep. It tastes bad, but you need to drink the whole thing."

Tipping her head back, she drained the whole glass. Her face contorted into a look of disgust, "Bleh! You weren't kidding, that is terrible!"

Elias scooped her up in his arms and carried her to their shared bed, nuzzling her neck lightly as he went. He laid her down gently and tucked the covers around her small frame. He ran his tongue over her lips, his version of a kiss and ran his long, black nails through her hair. She gave a soft hum of contentment and kissed the end of his snout. "I love you, Elias. Don't stay up to long talking, come to bed soon."

"I love you as well. I won't be gone long, so don't worry. I don't want you waiting up though, sleep now."

Her eyes had already closed, and her breathing had become slow and deep by the time he reached the door. He headed down the hall towards the library, on opening the door, he found Blue laying on the couch, a book to his face, eyes moving across the page quickly. Without looking up from the book, he addressed Elias, "She already fell asleep? Poor thing must be exhausted."

"Mmm, it was an emotional day. She was so tired, she was dozing off in the tub. What are you reading?"

"Poe. I have already read his complete works before, but I enjoy his work enough to re-read it. Especially Tell-Tale Heart and The Fall of the House of Usher."

"Hm, you have good taste. Why did you start reading in the first place? Like I said before, it's not a very... fae-like... activity."

"It started as a distraction. The spell used on me restricted my movement considerably. He didn't trust me, for obvious reasons, but the main one is that I blocked him out of my mind. He limited me to a few blocks around his flat in London. I explored the area looking for anything that would distract me from my situation. I came across the local library branch. I spent the first few days just observing the people and figuring out their actions. Before I was imprisoned by the idiot, I had watched humans on occasion. I had always been a bit fascinated by the technology the used. The computers drew my attention for a few days on their own. After a time, I got bored with just observing, so I took my human form and decided to experience things first hand. I gave myself the age of a teenager, since I noticed they indulged questions and mistakes from the young. I played around on the computers, browsed the shelves, and spent as much time as I could there. Anything to stay away from that flat. He also seemed not to care, or not to notice, as long as I came when called. As if I have a choice in that matter! One day, I decided to ask the women who worked the front desk if she had anything she thought I should read. She handed me Shakespeare, a volume of his complete works. I because enthralled by the written word and read anything I could get my hands on. I think it may have been the fact that I could forget my situation when I was reading and just focus on the book in my hand. It did become more than a distraction, perhaps an obsession would be the best description."

"Interesting, well, at any rate, you are more than welcome to everything in my collection. The majority of what I have is related to magic, of course, but I also have quite a large number of classics and non-fiction as well."

"Hhmm, I will take you up on that offer, thank you."

"As for sleep, for tonight, you can use the bed that Ruth sleeps in, since he will be staying downstairs with Silky. She will prepare a more permanent place for you tomorrow."

Blue looked up at the ceiling in a contemplative way before looking back at Elias and nodding, "The room two doors down from here, correct?"

It struck Elias that he must have been going through his memories to find the correct location. It was oddly unnerving to know that someone could now see his innermost thoughts at will. He wondered if Chise had gone through the same feeling when she first bonded with Ruth, perhaps he should ask her.

A soft snicker pulled him from his reveries, Blue was looking at him with a small smirk on his perpetually bored-looking face, "Don't worry too much. I'm not trying to discover your deep, dark secrets or anything. What would I do with them anyway? I suspect it may be jarring for everyone at first. Just remember, you can do the same to me... what's the term again... ah, yes, payback."

Elias' jaw chittered, and a deep chuckle emanated from his throat, "It is an odd feeling, but I suspect it is a bit odd for you as well, since you didn't allow him in your mind."

"Too true."

"Well, I believe I am going to head to bed. Silky will have breakfast ready in the morning. She generally has it ready by the time everyone is awake and ready to eat, I believe she just knows when that will be."

"Brownies truly are amazing at their jobs."

"Indeed. Good night, Blue."

"Good night."

Blue watched him leave and laid back down on the couch. Why was he being so kind and accommodating? For that matter, why was he being so understanding? Other fae had always treated him as an untrustworthy oddity and humans had only been kind to him when they thought he was one of them. Yet, Chise had put herself in harm's way to help him. Then, she had gone a step further and wanted to find a solution to his situation. And Elias had worried for what the other fae would think, not about him taking such an oddity for familiar, but how they would treat him for becoming the man's familiar.

He was abnormal, as far as fae went. The other avoided him for that very reason. He had always been a bit different from other Sylph, mainly because he was fascinated by humans and the world that lay under the sky. But, now he knew he was truly strange. It was all that man's, the idiot's, fault. Nothing about him had been right since that fool had grabbed him, performed that bastardized spell, and forced him into... servitude. He had fought at first. Had put himself through great pain, trying to fight the hold that idiot had over him... but nothing worked. He had started to develop... odd habits. Flitting around erratically, not sleeping for days on end, reading obsessively, avoiding hands. He had looked it up once, the word was neurotic, and it really did fit him well. He had stopped showing most of his emotions early on, they had been used against him too often and it had seemed better not to give the fool more ammunition to use against him. The hand thing though, that was truly a problem. Even in human form, he hated people touching or grabbing him. It filled him with a panic he could not explain. Even Elias' hands, with their ever-present gloves, made his heart pound painfully in his chest. He felt ridiculous, the man had shown him nothing but kindness, and yet he still felt the uncomfortable, clawing feeling in his chest every time those gloved hands got too close.

The thing that gave him the most worry though, was how these people would react to his oddities. What if they found him too strange and shunned him? He knew he was stuck either way, he was bond to Elias until the end. The idea of being shunned or resented by those who had been so kind to him gave him an odd coldness that he couldn't explain. Sighing to himself, he closed the book that lay forgotten on his chest and made his way out of the library and down the hall. Maybe sleep would help with this odd coldness.


	4. Introductions and Conversations

Chapter 4: Introductions and Conversations

The light of a new day streamed in through the bedroom window. Elias groaned, he hated mornings. Being a creature of night and shadow meant he struggled to find motivation in the harsh light of dawn. From his mental link, which he found to be surprisingly strong, Blue was already awake and appeared to be downstairs reading. A fae who reads is weird enough on its own, but Blue seemed to be a veracious reader, which was quite odd. But, Elias saw himself as an oddity anyway, so perhaps they would work well together.

Chise stirred next to him and started to stretch, "Mmm... ow! What the..."

He looked down at her face and was shocked. Almost the entire left half of her face was swollen and covered in dark, blotchy bruises, her eye was almost completely swollen shut. From the little bit of the eye he could see, it was obvious that quite a few blood vessels had burst because the whites of it were completely red.

She looked up at him and cringed, "If you have that look in your eyes, it must be bad."

Chise rolled out of bed, wincing slightly as the movement reminded her that she was bruised all over her body, and walked over to the mirror above her dresser. She gasped, "Holy crap! I look... terrible."

Elias stood and walked over to her, putting his arms around her shoulders. He could tell from the tone in her voice that she was on the verge of tears. "It's not... optimal, but it should heal relatively quickly. I will mix something up for the pain and swelling after breakfast. Unfortunately, I can't heal it completely, even with Blue's help. I am sorry."

"It's just... I look so... ugly like this." She sighed, and a few tears ran down her face. It wasn't that she normally thought herself beautiful, she thought she was fairly average. She just couldn't stop picturing the American comic book character Two-Face when she looked at herself at the moment.

Elias scooped her into his arms and nuzzled her neck, giving her the tightest hug he could without causing her bruised body pain. "You are very wrong. Even with the bruises and swelling on your face, you are still beautiful in my eyes."

She hugged him back and gave him a kiss on the end of his snout, "Your too sweet, you know."

"Don't tell anyone. It will ruin my reputation of being scary and formidable."

She snorted lightly, "Oh yes, everyone needs to think you are a heartless monster. So ridiculous! We aren't going anywhere today, are we?"

"Don't be silly. You are in no condition to do anything besides rest for at least the next three days. No, we will be staying home, and you will be resting."

She gave a relieved sounding sigh, "Good, then I am staying in my pajamas today. I feel sore all over and the thought of putting on regular clothes just makes me ache."

He nibbled lightly on her ear, eliciting a giggle from her, and put her down, "Let me change and we can go down to breakfast. It appears everyone else is up."

"Even Ruth? I haven't reached out to him since Blue said it would take a few days for that spell's effects to fade."

Elias reached out with his mental link, _Is Ruth awake as well?_ The response he got seemed slightly amused in nature, _You mean the Grim? Yes, though he looks terrible._

"Yes, he is awake, though apparently he isn't feeling well."

"Poor thing. He is such a baby when he doesn't feel good either."

Dressed and ready, Elias took Chise's hand in his own and the two made their way downstairs.

In the kitchen, both Ruth and Blue were in their human forms, sitting at the table. Ruth seemed to be struggling to stay that way however. Blue had his face buried in a book, taking occasional sips from a tea cup in front of him. As the couple entered the kitchen, Blue gave an acknowledging nod. Ruth, on the other hand, gave a strained whimper on seeing Chise's face and almost completely lost control of his form.

Blue closed his book with a sigh and looked sideways at Ruth, "You know, you wouldn't be having such a hard time if you were in your normal form. That spell disrupts your ability to be a familiar. That includes your ability to hold a human form."

Ruth eyed him suspiciously, "I... don't like eating in that form. Who the hell are you anyway?"

Blue responded with a soft snicker, though his expression remained bored-looking and neutral, "Geez, aren't you stubborn? I doubt Miss Silky will throw you out of the kitchen. She probably won't even kick you off the table, especially since it's not your fault. As for who I am, I am a little surprised you can't tell what I am, you must really feel like crap."

Ruth made a disgruntled noise, but his body shifted to shadow and reformed to his Grim form. This obviously helped because he gave a soft huff of a sigh and turned to Blue, sniffing. Blue stiffened at the close contact, a look of deep discomfort flashed across his face, but he didn't pull away.

"Oh, you're a fairy? You smell like spring wind."

"Generally, my kind do. I am a Sylphid. My name is Blue."

A look of confusion lit Ruth's face and he glanced around the table. He knew the ways of fairy kind, innately, and understood that only those who are very important, like the Queen and King, or those with familiars had names. He also knew that a familiar rarely strayed far from their master.

Chise and Elias had taken their seats and watched the exchange between the two familiars with neutral expressions. Chise gave Ruth a light smile, "Ruth, a lot happened yesterday while you were knocked out."

"Obviously, could you give me the short version? Just so that I don't feel so lost."

She smiled again, as Silky laid down the plates of breakfast food, and nodded, "The man who knocked you out and kidnapped me forced Blue to be his familiar by using a spell."

A disgusted look came over Ruth's face, "I wouldn't have thought that was possible! Terrible!"

"Mmm, anyway, the only way to free him was for him to become someone else's familiar. So, now he is Elias' familiar."

Ruth's eyes widened in surprise. He understood how unusual that was. He had struggled at first to trust Elias or feel completely comfortable around the man. It was just an innate mistrust that fae had for someone like Elias, because he was an incomplete being. He glanced over at Blue, who had picked back up his book and continued to read while eating breakfast. This fairy seemed... odd to Ruth. He couldn't put his paw on exactly why, but he just felt different. Maybe it was the reading. Even with his strong bond with Chise, who loved to read, he found it to be a boring way to spend his time. He had a feeling most fae were the same. Yet, this guy had done almost nothing but read since he had first laid eyes on him.

Blue could sense the Grim looking at him, scrutinizing him. It made his skin crawl because he knew exactly why he was doing so. He was sizing him up and, more than likely, judging his actions. _Don't let it get to you, he was like that for quite some time with me after bonding with Chise. His only concern is to keep her safe._ The thought entered his head and he looked up at Elias, giving him a small nod. _Don't be surprised if most fae treat me like this or worse. To them I am an oddball, a weirdo and it is why they don't trust me._

 _Me too. Maybe it will be easier now, since we both understand that feeling. We can empathize with one another._

 _Hhmm, perhaps._

Blue felt another twinge of confusion. Elias seemed to genuinely care about his comfort. He was sure that their bond was one of convenience and circumstance. And, while Blue was grateful for it because it had freed him from his humiliating servitude, he was still confused as to why Elias would feel the need to be kind to him on top of all he had already done.

As Blue ruminated on his thoughts, everyone finished their breakfast and Silky started collecting the dishes.

"Well, since you need to rest and recover, what would you like to do?" Elias looked at Chise with questioning eyes.

"Hhmm, maybe just relax in the living room. I think I want to read a bit."

"All right, I will go make you that medication, it should only take a few moments, then I think I will sit with you. If you get tired at all today, I don't want you to fight it, you need to sleep as much as possible, understand?"

"Yes, yes." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss as he stood. He patted her head and walked towards the workroom.

Chise and Ruth both got up and made their way towards the living room. She turned when she got to the door to ask Blue if he wanted to join them, but he had walked over to the sink and put his hand on Silky's shoulder.

"Miss Silky, let me help you. I can dry if you would like."

To Chise's surprise, Silky blushed and nodded slightly. When she handed him a wet plate he lightly blew on it and it became completely dry. He was holding the plate, looking around the kitchen, "Uh. Miss Silky? Where do these go?" It struck Chise that Elias may not know where they went, because it seemed Blue was comfortable enough to gleaning small facts like that from her fiancée's mind.

A deeper blush light Silky's cheeks and she lightly shook her head, patting a clear spot on the counter.

"Are you sure?" Another light nod. "Okay. Don't worry though, I'll learn."

This scene made Chise smile. She was surprised at Silky's reaction. She had never seen Silky blush and she wondered why Blue elicited such a reaction from her. Perhaps, she found him attractive, the thought made her want to giggle.

At that moment, Elias walked up behind her, a glass of light brown liquid in his hand, "Here, drink this. Like the one last night, this one taste pretty bad."

She took the glass, tipped her head back, and drained the whole thing, as she had the night before. Her nose crinkled, and she stuck her tongue out, "Yuck, no kidding it's bad. That one was worse than the one last night."

He took the glass from her and with a surge of magic, refilled it with water, "There, that should help wash the flavor away."

"Thanks." Drinking the water, she looked back over at Silky and Blue. When she was done, she smiled, "I guess it makes sense that he would be good at drying dishes, being an air fairy and all. I didn't expect him to be the type to want to help with house work."

"Well, from what I understand, he has a lot of respect for fae like her, Brownies, because of how hard they work. I think it is why he calls her Miss."

"That's really sweet. It's cute too, because he makes her blush."

Elias' jaw chittered on a small chuckle and the two walked hand in hand to the living room. Ruth was already curled up on the end of the couch and looked like he had already fallen asleep. Chise sat next to him and grabbed her book off the coffee table. She smiled at Elias and patted the seat next to her. He settled himself down and she snuggled up under his arm. Just as they were settling in, Blue walked in and, instead of sitting in the available chair, sat on the floor.

Chise gave him a questioning look, "Don't you want to sit in the chair?"

He gave her his usual bland look, "Oh no, I'll just lay here and read. It's more comfortable to me than a straight back chair."

She shrugged and settled back in. Elias made a slightly irritated noise, "Chise, I am sorry. I left my book upstairs in the bedroom, I need to go get it." He made to get up, but Blue put his hand up. "Wait." He looked up, as though he was thinking, clapped his hands together and slid them apart. A book appeared in his hands and he held it out to Elias, "This one, right?"

Elias looked down at it and nodded, "Yes, thank you. What an interesting summoning technique."

"My knowledge of the flow of magic and my ability to sense the world through air currents means I can manipulate space between myself and objects readily."

Chise, ever eager to learn new things, looked at Blue with interest, "Air currents? How does that work?"

Elias couldn't help but give a small clatter of a chuckle. One of Chise's most endearing qualities was her seemingly boundless thirst for knowledge. He gave her a soft affectionate nuzzle to the top of her head.

Blue couldn't help but feel a bit perplexed and slightly amused, they were so much like the typical couples he had seen in London. It was just so odd in someone who was a few hundred years old. "All fae sense the world in their own way, usually related to their powers or nature. The wind and air are my elements, because of this I sense the world around me through subtle changes in air pressure. It is the reason I can do other things while reading. I don't have to use my eyes to see what I am doing. Everything in the world has its own unique air pressure, and I rely on that."

Chise had a look of intense interest on her face, "That's amazing. And all fae experience the world differently like that?"

"Hhmm, to an extent, yes. For example, since Ruth is a dog in nature, he would sense the world the way a dog would… majority nose with sight at well." He glanced over at Ruth, "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Mmm." Ruth seemed to be listening, though he looked asleep.

"See? It's fairly simple, figure out a fairy's element or nature and you can tell how they sense the world in general." Blue laid back on the floor, book in his face, as the room fell into a comfortable silence. It only lasted a short time before Blue sat up and snapped his book shut. He turned towards Elias, "Someone is walking up to your door. I… think it is someone you know, but… ugh… I just can't tell."

"Hhmm, I guess I should go check." As Elias stood, Blue had already changed form and perched himself on Elias' horn.

"I am going to come. You know… just in case."

Elias could sense that Blue was uncomfortable and seemed to be in a state of agitation. He wondered if it was the newness of his surroundings, or if it stemmed from the mistrust he had developed because of his captivity. Either way, he didn't mind. For a reason he had not discerned yet, he liked having the little fairy perched on his horn. It made him feel… happy? He wasn't sure, maybe he should ask Chise, she was always happy to help him work through his own feelings.

He opened the front door, just as Simon was about to ring the bell.

"Oh Ainsworth! How did you know I was out here? Eh, no matter. I have something I need to talk to you about."

Elias gave him an even look, "If you have an errand, now is not a good time."

"No, no. Something happened in the village that pertains to you and your family, I thought you should know. Also, I need my medication."

Blue had been observing the exchange between the two men silently. He disliked clergy, was naturally distrusting of anyone directly connected to churches. And, there was something about this priest, he couldn't quite place it, but it made him suspicious.

"Well, come in then. I do have to warn you though, there was an… incident yesterday and Chise was injured. She will heal quickly, but the wounds are new and look particularly bad at the moment."

A concerned look came over Simon's face, "That's not good. By the way, Ainsworth, why is there a fairy on your head?"

Blue snorted and smirked, "A priest with sight? What an oxymoron!" He fell backwards in an elegant sort of way and landed on his feet, in his human form, behind Elias.

"Hhmm, ah yes. Blue, this is Simon. He is the priest of the village church and also keep an eye on me for his higher ups." A disgruntled noise left Blue's throat and Elias' jaw chittered in amusement. "We have known one another for almost 15 years, so you could say we are friends. Simon, this is Blue, he is my familiar as of yesterday."

Simon gaped at him, "Whatever happened yesterday must have been big. You will tell me the story, won't you?"

"Yes, of course."

As they entered the living room, Chise turned to see who was visiting, "Oh, hello Simon, you were who was at the door."

"Oh goodness! Miss Chise! You poor thing! Who would do such a thing?"

Elias gestured to the chair as he took his place next to Chise, "Simon, sit. First, tell use what you wanted to say, this story is quite long."

"Ah, right. Some weird man was going around the village demanding people tell him where you lived and asking strange questions about Chise. Of course, no one would tell him anything. He got quite angry with a few people, including me. Called me quite a few unnecessary names. He gave me an uncomfortable feeling, he seemed very untrustworthy."

To everyone's surprise, it was Blue who responded first, "If I showed you an image, could you tell if it was the same man or not?"

"Yes, I should be able to."

Blue stood and walked over to Simon. He seemed slightly uncomfortable but placed two fingers on Simon's temple. For a brief moment, Simon's eyes flashed the same color as Blue's before returning to him normal soft brown color. He blinked a few times and gave Blue a startled look, "What was that?"

"Memory sharing. Was that image I showed you the same man?"

"Yes, it was."

Blue plopped back down on the ground, making an irritated noise, "It was him. Had I been more diligent in watching what he was doing, I could have prevented this. He was asking about you hours before he actually took you. Bleh!"

Simon gave Elias a confused look. Elias sighed, "It seems the man you are talking about is the same one who attacked Chise and attempted to kidnap her."

"Well, what happened then?"

"Chise, you should tell it, since I came in so late."

"Mmm." Chise started the tale. Simon paid wrapped attention, even Ruth had given up on sleep to hear the full story. Blue listened with his same seemingly bored face, only his eyes gave away the anger he felt at himself. He had brought his knees up to his chest and had rested his chin on them. Elias observed him silently. He couldn't explain why, but it bothered him that Blue seemed to blame himself for what that man had done.

Chise had come to the part in the story where Blue had been summoned and she looked at him, "What's with the way he called you anyway?"

"Just one more humiliation he put me through because I refused to do what he said, same with the name."

Simon looked at Blue in confusion, "Name? Why would he have given you a name?"

"I was his familiar. Not by my choice, mind you. Through a spell, I was forcibly bound to him. Even in that process, a familiar is given a name by the person they are bound to. He decided to give me the most degrading name he could, Servant. Luckily, the bond was very weak, so he could compel me to do very little."

Chise continued the story with little facts and informative bits thrown in by Blue. Everyone in the room became very uncomfortable when she reached the part about the knife. How could they not? It was a visceral, painful thing to recall for Chise. She seemed pained by the retelling and moved through it quickly.

"Unfortunately, he was able to grab Blue while he was cutting me. Blue, why did it hurt you so much when he grabbed you?"

"The gloves he wears are made from iron threads and that, on its own, is damaging to any fae. But he also imbued the gloves with a spell that breaks through our barrier."

Chise gave him an inquisitive look, "He said something like that and it confused me. What does that mean?"

"Every magic user has a built-in barrier, most don't even realize that they have it. The basic idea is that it protects one from unintentionally transferring magic when touching someone. The spell he used broke down that barrier and made it so that I could not stop the transfer from happening. He also was a sadistic bastard, so he intentionally made it painful." As he had talked, he had tightened his arms around his legs, pulling them closer into his chest. Pain was evident on his face. "You see, that spell, he developed it specifically as a punishment for me. I refused to help him in any way, refused to let him into my mind, refused to listen to anything he told me. It angered him greatly and because he couldn't beat me up like he would a human, he made the spell. Sometimes he didn't even need to use magic, he would grab me just because he enjoyed seeing me suffer. I may not have allowed him into my mind, but I checked his every once in a while, to keep an eye on what he was doing. I know how he thought. That's why I say I should have seen this coming. However, I had been… distracting myself more and more recently. I highly regret not being aware of what he had planned."

He was startled out of his talking by Chise making a noise of protest, "You can't blame yourself! That guy was a sick bastard and would have found a way to try and get what he wanted regardless of what you did."

"You have no idea how right you are. You should know something. I didn't know if I was going to tell you this, but you deserve to know the truth, at least. He has had his eyes on you for about four and a half years now."

"But… that's when Elias bought me from the auction."

"Exactly, if I remember correctly, right before Elias bid out with $5 million, there was a bid for $2.25 million. That was the idiot. He has wanted your magic since you went up for auction. I just never thought he would be stupid enough to try and actually take you from someone that could kill him with a thought. He was sadistic, not smart."

Chise was obviously surprised by this revelation, "That is… incredibly creepy."

Everyone else in the room seemed to be taken aback by the information, except Elias. He had already gleaned that information from Blue. At first, he had been angered, of course, by the way the man had treated her and by the fact that he thought he would be able to take her from him and get away with it. But, that feeling had given way to a strange kind of relief. This reaction had confused him at first, but the more he considered it, the more he came to a realization. He was relieved that he had made the decision to buy Chise when he had, because the alternative would have meant a terrible fate. Chise had been in the man's clutches for maybe a half an hour and he had done so much damage to her, if he had been the one to buy her who knows how long she would have survived. The thought of her going through that kind of degradation and then having all the magic drained from her body, leading to a painful death… it was truly a terrifying thought to him.

Blue leaned back a bit and looked at Chise, much of the self-anger had left his face and he had his normal expression in place, "What I still can't fathom is why you did what you did when he grabbed me. What possessed you to strike a man who had just dug a knife into you just to help me?"

Ruth made and angry huff and gave Chise a look that could kill, "You did what now?"

"Well… you see… I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing…"

"You don't say?"

"I just… acted on impulse. Something in me just felt that what I was seeing was wrong and that I had to do something."

"You always do things like that! Always recklessly putting yourself in danger without thinking of the consequences." Ruth huffed in irritation and laid is head back on his paws.

Blue gave him a guarded, appraising look before turning back to Chise, and sighing lightly, "The thing is, while I appreciate the fact that you wanted to help me, even at the time, I knew it was ultimately an unnecessary act."

She gave him a look of confusion, so he continued, "I already knew Elias was almost there. Like I told you earlier, I sense the world through air pressure. I could sense something not quite solid moving toward us at high speed. I already knew that his nature is shadow, so I came to the logical conclusion this it was him I sensed. I also knew he would know exactly where you were. Remember, I had detected the tracking spell placed on your necklace. I had not intended the idiot to grab me, obviously, but I thought it wouldn't last too long. Honestly, it… shocked me when I went flying out of his hand, I was also a bit weak and dazed, so it took me a moment to realize what had happened. When I looked up… well, it wasn't pretty. In all the years that I had been stuck with him, I had never witnessed him so… savage. Maybe he was frustrated by your lack of cooperation. He may have thought you would be more passive, since he assumed you were already in a similar situation to what he had planned for you. I really have no idea. The only good thing is that it didn't last long."

Chise was a bit red in the areas of her face that weren't bruised. She hadn't even considered any of that until just now. It made her feel foolish and childish for not thinking of that at the time.

It seemed Blue could tell that she was feeling bad, "Don't feel too bad. You were in a bad situation and in a considerable amount of pain, of course you wouldn't be thinking too clearly at the time." His normally bored expression broke into an encouraging smile, and Chise returned it.

Turning her face up to Elias, Chise gave him a questioning look, "I was a bit surprised at how calm you seemed when I saw you."

From the look in his eyes and the set of his shoulders, Chise could tell that he was slightly embarrassed, "Ah… well you didn't see me before you sat up. When I saw him on top of you, hitting you, I actually lost control of my form a bit and let my rage control me. I honestly almost killed him on the spot. But, I heard you make a pained noise and it pulled me back. By the time you saw me, I had rained in control of myself again. In hinge sight, I am glad I did, or I would have unintentionally killed Blue as well."

Simon had been riveted by the tale and stayed silent through most of the conversation, but cleared his throat, "What I still don't understand is how Blue went from being that man's familiar to yours. Everything I know about those kinds of arrangements says that it should be impossible."

Blue gave him a deeply suspicious look, "You know an awful lot for a man of the church. Hhmm… anyway, yes, in normal circumstances, it is impossible to break the bond once the oath is said. However, my circumstance were far from normal. I never said the oath, nor was I in the bond of my own free will. It was an incredible weak hold, made all the more weak by the abuse he committed against me. I held great resentment towards him, the bond would never get stronger, only weaker. I had figured out early on that the major weakness of the spell was the bond itself, all that needed to happen to break it was the introduction of a new, stronger bond. Any bond I entered into freely would automatically be stronger and break his hold."

"Who actually was he, and Ainsworth, how did he get away? I am surprised you let that happen, it's not like you."

A sigh escaped Elias' mouth, "He was not a mage I had actually heard of until yesterday, but he goes by Iron Mage. He was able to get away because he was able to use that damn spell on his gloves to pull the power right out of my vines. I could, of course, have caught him with very little problem, but I was far more concerned with making sure Chise was okay."

Simon gave a nod, "Ah, that makes sense. I was very concerned, so were the people of the village."

"Really?" Elias wasn't quite sure if he believed they were that concerned. Why would they be? He was not one of them. Sure, he interacted with them on occasion and provided medications to anyone who needed it. But what would make them care about him?

The look on Simon's face conveyed exasperation, "Of course they care. You have been part of this community for longer then I have. You have helped plenty of people with the medication you make. They certainly consider you one of them. Besides, everyone in town loves Chise. Do you think that guy might come back? If he does, what should the people of the village do?"

Elias could say he was honestly shocked that the people of the village felt that way about him. It was only natural that they would like Chise, most who met her felt that way. But he seemed to have very few people who even seemed comfortable around him. He felt a sudden surge of protectiveness for these people who thought of him as one of them. A grave look entered his eyes, "There is a large possibility he will come back. If anyone sees him, they need to avoid him at all cost and they need to let me know as soon as possible. He has lost his only constant source of magic and will more than likely be desperate. He could possible hurt someone even worse than he hurt Chise."

"I will let everyone know." The clock chimed, and Simon cringed, "The sisters are expecting me back, so I should get going." Elias made to stand so that he could get Simon his medication and see him out, but the other man held up his hand and pointed to Chise. She had fallen asleep against Elias, her head resting on his chest. "You should stay there, she needs to rest."

Both men were surprised when Blue stood up, "Don't worry, I can get it for him and see him out."

"Thank you, I appreciate that." Elias was most surprised because he could sense the mistrust that Blue had for the priest. He knew it was natural for the fae to mistrust clergy. Even after so many years, Silky still disliked Simon and Ruth had never fully trusted him. As Simon followed Blue down the hall to the workroom Elias sent him a small thought, _Don't be too mean to him. He isn't a bad person, just a bit of an idiot._

 _No need to worry. I just want to ask him a question._

As they walked into the workroom, Blue went to the cabinet where all the finished medications were kept and pulled out the one meant for Simon, he turned and gave the priest his ever-present bored look, "So, tell me, at what age did you lose the ability to use magic?"

Simon stared at him, the look on his face could almost be described as horror, "How… how did you know?"

"Well, from the moment I set eyes on you, I knew something was different about you, something off. When I shared that memory with you, I figured it out. I could feel the empty pathways. If you were just a normal human, there would be no paths. So, what age was it?"

"I… I was 15. I had always been able to see fairies and I was supposed to start my training as an apprentice the next year. I got really sick and once I got better, all the magic in my body was gone. I could be no one's apprentice after that. I decided to go to seminary after that and become a priest. When my higher ups found out about my past, I was scared they would kick me out of the priesthood, instead they asked me if I would be willing to watch a mage that they had their eyes on. I was given the charge of the local church and became Ainsworth's watchdog."

Blue looked at him with calm eyes, "Have you ever noticed how little trust my kind have for you?"

"Yes, I noticed they stopped trusting me after my magic left me"

"That is the reason why. They sense something off about you. A human with sight, but no magic is very rare and tends to make us extremely nervous."

"Hhmm, I see… it is actually nice to know why… I feel like I should thank you."

Blue held up a hand as they got to the door, "You have no reason. You should have asked him a long time ago. He could have told you all this."

"Really?" Blue nodded and opened the door. Simon put his hand out, offering Blue a handshake. Blue hesitated and a look of discomfort ghosted across his face, but he returned the handshake.

"Good bye, I can't tell you that I still fully trust you, that would go against my kinds nature, but I will try my best."

"Mmm, that's all I can ask for, I guess. It was a pleasure meeting you and I look forward to seeing you again." He gave one last wave and started walking toward the lane.

Blue shut the door and placed his head on it. Why did he have to feel so strange? He had to force himself to shake the priest's hand and it had made panic rise within him. His heart still pounded painfully in his chest. Damn! He took a few large breaths, trying to calm himself. Finally, his heart slowed down and he was able to get his face back to his blank expression, so he made his way back into the living room. A smile almost broke across his face as the sight met his eyes. All three of the couch's occupants had fallen asleep. Even Elias' eyes were muted, and his breathing was deep, his head tipped over Chise's on his chest in an almost protective way. Blue lay back down on the ground and put his book back to his face. He felt comfortable. It was nice. Was this what it meant to be part of a family?

Later that day, as the sun sunk slowly over the horizon, everyone sat at the table. It was dinnertime. Ruth seemed much better after spending most of the day sleeping, but was still in his dog form, as it still made his head swim and his stomach sick to be in his human form. Blue had a new book in his face, having finished the one he had that morning. Chise looked over at him and made a small sound of surprise.

"Blue, are you reading one of my manga?"

He removed the book from his face and raised an eyebrow, "Manga? Is that what it's called? I found it in the library and was interested, I have never read a book with pictures included. Would you prefer I not read it?"

"No, no. You are welcome to it. I was just surprised is all. I used them to learn to read English better. I have them in two copies, one in Japanese and one in English, and I would read them comparatively."

"Wait, are you saying there are more like this?" There was a small hint of interest and excitement in his normal even voice. He realized it and hoped that no one else did.

"Oh sure! Tons. They are insanely popular in Japan. They come in almost any genre you can think of."

Blue gave her an even look, trying to control the intense interest he had, "And where does one get them from?"

"Usually on the internet, though I did find a shop in London the last time I was there to have lunch with Alice."

Elias could tell from his link that Blue was really interested in this shop that Chise spoke of. He couldn't explain why, but he really felt the need to make the fairy happy since he had lived such a terrible life before coming to his family. This seemed as if it was something that would do just that, "Well, I do need to go see Angelica when Chise is better. We can go to this shop at that time, if you would like."

Blue's eyebrows shot up, but his face remained passive, "Really? You're sure? It wouldn't be an inconvenience?"

"No, not at all. We will go."

Blue put his book back to his face but wasn't really looking at it. He was just trying to hide his eyes. He knew they were showing his emotions and he hated to let others see them. He still could not fathom the kindness he was being shown. He had spent some time looking into Elias' mind and knew that the man struggled with his own emotions. It made Blue wonder why he would care about his feelings when he didn't understand his own. He huffed in his own head, why was he struggling with his own emotions so much? He thought he had let them go long ago, but now they were swamping him, it was frustrating. Could it be that he was starting to like these people? Part of him was glad that he liked them, it would make living here so much easier. But, he also hated that he liked them, it meant that if they eventually came to dislike him it would hurt all the more. He was tired of feeling hurt… really, he was tired of feeling at all because it had caused nothing but problems for him.

Silky laid out the plates for dinner and everyone dug in, enjoying the excellent food she prepared.

"How are you feeling Chise? Are you in any pain?" Elias looked at her as they ate with a look of concern. She was eating, but slowly and seemed a bit uninterested.

"A bit. I just feel uncomfortable all over and my head is starting to hurt."

He gave her a stern look and placed his hand lightly on her head, "Why didn't you say so? I will go get you more medication. I made large batch today for this very reason. I do not want you trying to tough it out, that won't help you get better."

"Right. I'm sorry."

Elias got up from the table and disappeared down the hall towards the workroom, he returned a few minutes later with a glass of medication in hand. "There. Drink it all, like before."

She obediently drank it down, shivering and sticking her tongue out at the unpleasant taste. The table settled into a comfortable silence as everyone eat.

Later that night, Elias and Chise lay in bed. He was in a sat up position and she laid against his chest. She had intertwined her fingers with his and was marveling at the contrast between his beautiful plum skin tone and her porcelain tone. His other arm was wrapped around her middle and he gave her a light squeeze.

"Chise, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"When you first bonded with Ruth, were you unnerved a bit by the access he now had to your mind?"

She looked up at him thoughtfully, "I guess so. It did feel strange, at first, that he could see what I was thinking and feeling. I was always so private with my emotions that it felt weird that I would no longer be able to hide them from everyone anymore. Why? Are you feeling that way?"

"Slightly. I don't mind it, I think. But, it does feel a bit strange. Can I ask you something else, about an emotion I have been feeling, but having a hard time identifying?"

"Of course, you can. I am your human teacher after all."

He pulled her whole body onto his and nibbled at her neck, making her giggle, "Hhmm, indeed you are. When I think about the fact that Blue decided that he wanted to be my familiar, I get a warm feeling in my chest… it feels like happiness… but it becomes stronger when I consider the fact that he chose to do so despite what the other fae will say about it. It's almost like how I felt when you first touched me of your own volition. What is that warmth?"

"Elias, I think it is happiness at being accepted. Not many of the fae have shown you much kindness in your life, but Blue chose to become your familiar despite them. It feels like the first time I touched you, because it is the same feeling… the joy of being accepted for who you are, despite appearance or reputation."

"Hhmm, now that you say it, it does make sense. Do you think it is a normal thing to feel that way?"

She laughed lightly and planted a kiss at the end of his snout, "Of course it is. Everyone wants to be accepted, maybe not by everyone, but by someone. So, you are happy you have a familiar then?"

"Yes, I believe I am. I get a pleasant feeling when I think of it and I get the same feeling when he perches himself on my horn."

"I did want to ask you about that. It doesn't bother you? And why your horn?"

He tapped the end of his snout in a thoughtful way, "I think it may be the most advantages spot, he has a full view of the surroundings and is able to maintain contact. Most fae must share their power by making contact with us or our staff, as Ruth does with you. When he shares his power with me, he wraps his hand around my horn, thus making the connection. And, no, I don't mind it at all."

"I… see…" A large yawn escaped her lips as she spoke.

"You need to sleep." He ran the tip of his tongue over her lips and started to move to place her next to him on the bed.

"Wait… Can I stay like this tonight? On top of you I mean… it's warm and comfortable…"

"Of course." He reached over and turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness. Wrapping both arms around her smaller frame, he dropped his head over her shoulder in a protective way. She snuggled into his and placed a kiss on the shoulder she lay on. It took very little time until they both drifted off to sleep.


	5. Work and Connections

Chapter 5: Work and Connection

Elias stood in the workroom. He had discarded his robe, as he always did when he was working. He had no desire to do what needed to be done, but he knew that if he didn't finish the orders that were stacking up he would regret it later. He would much prefer to be with Chise, even though she was currently asleep, still recovering from her injuries. It had only been two days since she had almost been taken from him and the thought of it still caused a chill to run down his spine. He had the urge to hold her close and never let her out of his sight again, she was far to precious and important to him. He knew that was unrealistic, but it seemed his instincts had other ideas. He normally would have left some of the orders he was currently working on to her, as she was far better suited to them then he was, but with her link to Ruth still problematic he would just have to do them. Luckily, Blue was currently perched on his horn, swinging his clawed feet and lightly fluttering his wings. With his help, this should be an easy task, he had done them himself before Chise came into his life, of course, but it had always been a bit of a drain and a chore.

Currently, he was grinding a mixture of dried herbs into a fine powder so that he could infuse them into a liquid and create a tincture. With the pestle in his large hand, he absentmindedly ground the mixture in the mortar as he gazed out the window. He had been doing this a lot in the last two days. His ember-like eyes scanning the outside area, looking for signs of the idiot who would dare to lay a hand on his precious Robin. It bothered him to no end that the man knew where they lived, and he had been considering ways to prevent the foul man from coming near her ever again. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice the weight leave his head until Blue was fluttering in front of his face, head tilted to the side and one blue eyebrow arched up.

"Your mind is wondering. You haven't even moved in about a minute. What is it?" He drawled in his normal, seemingly detached tone. However, Elias could already tell, through the connection they shared, that he was asking because he actually cared. "Your emotions are vacillating all over the place."

"Hhmm, sorry… I was lost in thought."

Blue rolled his eyes, "Obviously, what is it that you are lost in thought about?"

A sigh escaped Elias as you observed the fairy in front of him. It was going to take some getting used to, having a familiar. He was so used to relying on his own head to consider problems and come up with solutions. He would no longer be able to hide the fact that he questioned himself constantly, despite the self-assured air he attempted to give off. "I am deeply concerned with the fact that that idiot knows where we live. I will not allow Chise to be in danger because of him."

"Ah, that explains the constant scanning of the surrounding area. I can tell you, for the time being, you have little to worry about. He may be an idiot and a fool, but he has some sense of self-preservation. He will not attack when he is so greatly weakened." He settled himself back on Elias' horn and gave a flippant wave of his hand. "Besides, he is more than likely in the process of moving. Since I am no longer bound to hold his secrets, he won't want to stay in the same place he has been living."

"Hhmm… I had not… considered that. It does free my mind a bit." He looked down at the forgotten mortar that now held a fine powder. "This looks good. Shall we finish this one?"

Blue wrapped his hands around the horn he sat on. "Sure, I am ready when you are."

Elias dumped the powder into the awaiting flask of water and used his normal flourish to produce his staff. Grasping it with both hands, he felt the magic flow from Blue and into himself. He noticed that the familiar's ever-present aquamarine glow seemed to brighten with the flow and he started his chant. Blue light swirled and small, thorned vines wrapped themselves around the flask. When the spell finished, the powder was mixed in and the water had taken on a light purple color.

"Perfect." Elias grabbed a few small vials and filled them with the purple liquid.

"What is this one for anyway?"

"A woman in the village who is having severe morning sickness. I normally do not make these ones as I am not as well suited to this type of thing, but with Chise in her current state and Ruth unable to help her it seemed best if I just took care of it. I, of course, made them before she was here, but it took too much magic and left me drained."

"I see. Was it easier now? Or do you need a nap?" Blue said this with obvious sarcasm, a smirk plastered on his face.

Elias glanced up at him and gave a small huff, "I am perfectly fine, do you need to rest? Seeing as how you haven't had to expand this much energy in quite a while." It was odd that someone besides Chise would want to tease him and it gave him more of those warm, pleasant feelings he had been experiencing when around Blue.

"Oh, you do have a sense of humor. Good, I was beginning to worry." Blue found himself enjoying the banter and comfort that came with this bond he had entered into. "Tell me. Chise, she has lived longer than most of her kind do. How have you been keeping her power from consuming her?"

Elias sighed, "It has not been easy, and I am still struggling to find something permanent. Mostly it has been with magic limiting artifacts. I have spent the last four years trying to find something better, but I have yet to discover what that permanent solution might be."

"Ah yes, I did sense something magical from the ring and bracelet she wears. I am guessing those are the artifacts you mean?"

"Mmm."

"And, I get the sense, that if you do not find a permanent solution, you plan to follow her when she loses the battle with her cursed body."

Elias was surprised. He had thought that particular decision had been hided deep within him. It was a decision he had come to very easily. He did not desire to go back to the way his life had been before she entered it. He hated the cold, lonely feeling that settled over him when he thought about losing her and he knew that it would been far worse if she truly was gone. Even the idea of having a familiar had not changed his mind. Blue made him feel less lonely, but he loved Chise and, he knew, losing her would break him completely. "I am sorry. I should have told you. It is the major reason I was hesitant to enter this bond with you. It is… unfair to you."

He was surprised when Blue laughed lightly. "No need to apologize, I had an idea of this particular problem. Remember what I said, I thought death was my only way out of that bond, so I had prepared myself for the possibility. I figure, if that does happen, at least I won't be alone on my journey to the other side. But, I think it would be much better to find a way to keep her alive. I will help you in your search for a solution. I will dedicate my considerable understanding of the inner workings of magic to this endeavor and with both of us working on it, we are bound to find something. Besides, I like that reckless girl of yours. I would hate to see her die."

The feeling in Elias' chest threatened to steal his breath away. "I… that is… thank you."

Blue fluttered his wings and tapped his small fist on the area between Elias' horns. "Don't get all emotional on me, I thought you weren't an emotional kind of person. Don't we have more work to do anyway?"

Getting the fluttering in his chest, Elias gave a small nod of his head and turned to the list of preparations he still had to do before the end of the day. He was pulled from his perusal of the list by the sound of small feet padding into the room. Turning around he saw Chise, looking a bit sleepy and slightly uncomfortable, standing in the doorway of the workroom. "Chise, what is it? You look like you are in pain."

She gave him a small smile, "I have a headache. Can I have more of that potion?"

"Of course, I still have plenty left." He made his way to one of the storage cabinets that lined the walls and removed a large flask of light brown liquid and poured some into a glass. Turning back, he noticed Chise had walked up to the worktable and was examining the vials he had just filled.

"Elias, did you make the morning sickness potion for Sarah?"

"Yes, I was able to do a pretty decent job with Blue's help."

She gave a laugh and smirked at him, "With you having a familiar, are you even going to need me anymore?"

Elias was taken aback. She couldn't really think such a thing, could she? Even if she could no longer do magic at all, he would always need her in his life. She had to know that. His mind went to what he had been doing most of the morning, to the ring he had been designing for when they went to Angelica's when Chise was healed. To the plans that he had for that ring. To the idea of asking her to be his wife in the same way that humans did.

Blue rolled his eyes and knocked on the center of his horns again. "She is kidding."

A surprised look lit Chise's face and she came forward, wrapping her arms around Elias' waist. "Of course, I was kidding! Don't be silly, Elias!"

The man visibly relaxed and gave her a nuzzle on the top of her head, handing her the glass he had been holding. "Here. Drink this and then I want you to go back to bed. You still look very tired."

She stepped back and nodded, "I had planned to. I feel like I could sleep all day. Do the bruises on my face look better?"

"Yes, they do. They look as though they will be gone in a day or two."

"Thank God. I really do hate how they look, even though the pain is mostly gone." She drained the glass, grimacing slightly, and handed the glass back to him. She motioned for him to bend down to her and gave him a small kiss on the end of his snout. "Wake me up for dinner, okay?"

"I will. Now go, we have more work to do."

He watched her as she went. He would keep that beautiful girl safe and happy as long as he had breath in his body. She was so precious to him and he hated to see her hurting as she was now. A sliver of anger ran through him as he thought of the pain she was in and the man who had inflicted that pain. He would destroy that fool before he let him get anywhere near his wonderful Robin again. She was more important to him then even his own life. Apparently, self-preservation took a backseat when love was involved.


	6. London and Strong Emotions

Authors Note:So, sorry for taking so long with this chapter. It is very long though, so enjoy that! I have never actually written one quite so long, but there really wasn't a good spot to cut it in half.  
This chapter also features a little bit of lemon at the beginning! I do not write super smutty lemon and it is more like emotional lemon. If you read the prequel story that I posted then you will know how I write such things. If that isn't something you particularly like, you can skip to the first story break, but you will miss a bit of sweet emotional time between Chise and Elias.  
You may also realize that the story has diverged pretty far from were things are at the moment in the manga. To be honest, I got the idea for this before the dragon curse and just decided to run with what I had already thought up and give the story an AU tag. I am loving the course of the actual manga and wait impatiently for new chapters! lol

It had taken four days for Chise to feel well enough to want to leave the house. Though, that had little to do with her actual aches and pains. She absolutely refused to go anywhere until the bruising on her face had completely faded. She knew she was being slightly vain to worry about such a thing, but she just couldn't help it. The whites of her eye were still completely red and would be for some time, it took a while for the blood that had leaked from the burst vessels to reabsorb. She was glad that it had only taken four days, she was feeling a bit stir-crazy from doing nothing but sit at home.

The morning sun shown through the window besides the bed, casting its warm glow in the room. For the first time since her attempted kidnapping it seemed she was awake before Elias. _Good, things are finally getting back to normal,_ she thought, as she stretched and yawned widely. To her sudden surprise, strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her against Elias' broad chest.

"Don't get up yet, it feels good having you in bed with me."

She glanced up and saw that his eyes were still muted, as if they were closed. Smiling softly up at him, Chise sighed and snuggled up against him, "I guess I can stay in bed if you want to sleep a bit more."

Elias' tongue snaked out from behind his teeth and ran down her neck, "Who said anything about sleep?"

A shiver ran through her body and a smirk lit her lips, she had missed this part of their relationship the last few days, "But Elias, what else are we supposed to do in bed besides sleep? Isn't that what a bed is for?" False innocents dripped from her voice as she batted her eyelashes at him.

A soft growl rumbled from his throat and he nipped softly at her neck, "I can think of quite a few things. Shall I show you?"

"Hhmm, you probably should, since I am so lost as to what those things could be." She had meant for this to come out in the same falsely innocent voice, but instead came out breathless and needy.

His hands wrapped themselves around the hem of her nightshirt and, in one fluid motion, pulled it over her head and tossed it to the ground. She shivered as the cool morning air hit her skin, but the felling was soon replaced by warm hands. He ran them up her belly and cupped her breasts, running his fingers over the nipples in a soft caress. His tongue ran along her shoulder and then down her spine, teeth nipping behind it. She leaned forward, pushing into his touch and exposing more of her back to his wandering tongue and teeth.

"Mmm, Elias…" She moaned his name softly and ran her nails over his pajama pant covered thighs.

He loved hearing his name in that needy, breathy voice. It lit a fire deep inside him that made his more instinctual side roar to claim what was his. He also loved the taste of her skin, like beautiful flowers and sweet, green plants. The scent that came off her skin was fresh and beautiful, like the garden in high spring. He would probably admit that he was a bit addicted to both her taste and smell. It had taken him a while to feel completely comfortable with their more… intimate relationship. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy and desire such a relationship, it had more to do with the… nature of their shared appetites. Generally, any time the two had become intimate, they both usually walked away with scratches and bite marks. Two feelings warred within him whenever he saw such marks on her beautiful skin; a feeling of possession and a feeling of shame. Something deep and instinctual loved the idea of marking her as his own, letting others know that she was his and his alone. But his more rational side hated the idea of injuring her in any way, even if she liked it, and felt shame that he seemed unable to control himself when it came to such things. He had found that, when it came to Chise, he had some very instinctual reactions to her. The major one was possession. He had a strong, animalistic need to keep her close and to let the whole world know that she was his. He also found that when she was around other people, especially other men, he felt more aggressive and protective over her. On some level, he knew that it was an irrational way to be, but it seemed as though he had very little say in the matter, on some level he understood that instinct ruled all in such matters.

Chise glanced over her shoulder at him and the look in his eyes alone gave her goosebumps and made the fire that he had already lit in her stomach blaze even stronger. Elias always seemed to second guess his emotions and question what he was feeling, but Chise just had to look into his eyes and she could usually tell what he was feeling, even if he didn't know how to name the emotion himself. Right now, the look in his eyes was passionate, lustful, possessive, and full of the same fire she was sure reflected in her own eyes. There was also a slightly feral look there that might have scared someone else, but she had never been afraid of Elias and never would be, so for her it was exciting and increased her own desire for him. She was under no girly illusions about her Elias. She understood that he was not human, not completely anyway, and that he was sometimes beholden to his more primitive instincts. It never was a problem for her, something about his rougher, aggressive, and more dominant tendencies in the bedroom excited her in a way she would have never thought possible. Suddenly, she felt bold and a bit ambitious and felt as though this was a good time to try something she had been wanting to do but felt a bit too shy to do it. Before she could talk herself out of what she was going to do, she flipped herself around in his arms and ran her hands down his arms and to his much larger hands. She kissed and nipped across his broad chest while she brought his hands behind his back. She mumbled something that Elias couldn't quite hear and pulled her hands away, sitting up in his lap with a satisfied smirk on her face.

Elias had been confused by her sudden movement and went with what she was doing. When she pulled her hands away, he went to pull his out as well but found that he was unable to separate his wrist from one another. "Chise, what did you…"

Chise brought her hand up and placed it on the end of his snout, effectively silencing him, "Sshh, just sit back and relax. I really do think you will like this."

"Chise…"

She leaned forward and licked the end of his snout, "Didn't I just say sshh?" Moving away from his face, she kissed along his neck and down to his chest, leaving a few nips and bites along the way. A moan and light growl rumbled through Elias' chest, he loved the feeling of her mouth on his skin. Chise continued her way over his hard, flat stomach, kissing, nipping, and biting over the warm, textured skin. She had found early on in their intimate relationship that she loved the taste of his skin. He tasted like a sweet, fruity wine with just a hint of muskiness that drove her to distraction.

The farther down his body that Chise went, the more distracted and mindless Elias became. He could feel his mind fogging and his bestial side coming to the surface. He could sense his thorns shivering for release, to bind and hold her in place. Part of him fought against it, wanting to let Chise do as she wanted and to see what she had planned, but it was hard for him to keep that part of himself contained and getting harder with each movement and each bit she inflicted on him.

Chise came to the waist of his pajama pants and she slid her fingers under the band, running them over his hips as she pulled them off. She yanked them the rest of the way off and tossed them over her shoulder. His excitement was obvious and made a light blush come to her checks. No matter how many times she saw him without clothes, she still felt that same shyness that she had felt the first time she had seen him completely naked. He was just so much for her to take in. She wasn't quite sure if he naturally had the body he did or if he just made it to look that way, either way she always found herself reverting to a besotted school girl. He was just so well built and incredibly sexy (that really was the only word for it in her mind). She lightly ran her hands over his thighs and up to his evident erection, running her fingers along the length and eliciting a groaning growl from him. She glanced up at him and saw that feral look in his eyes, his mouth was open, and he was panting. She loved the fact that she could cause her normally stoic fiancée to devolve into a panting, growling creature of need. He was only ever like that with her, for her, and it made her feel a sense of power.

She dropped her head down and brought her lips to his tip, lightly pressing a kiss to him. She then let her tongue run over the place where her lips had been and down the length of him. He tasted the same as his skin, but so much stronger and made her crave more. She took his head into her mouth, wanting to taste more and sucked lightly. She could hear his growl, so strong and feral, above her.

"God Elias. You taste so good."

Her words were spoken so close to his erection that the vibration moved into him and caused him to shiver and huff in lust. He was lost to the sensation of her mouth on him and he felt mindless. It was obvious that he wasn't thinking clearly, as he struggled against the invisible bonds that held his wrists together, behind his back. Had he been in his right mind, he would have been able to mutter the simple counter-spell and free himself, but as it was, he continued to struggle fruitlessly against his binding.

She continued to move up and down his length. She couldn't take all of him in her mouth, he was just too large for that, but she ran her tongue over him and used her hands on the rest. His hips began to move of there own accord with her movements and she could tell he was close to release. She sucked on him one more time and he come undone. A loud, animalistic bellow tore from him as he came.

Chise sat up, panting and trying to get her breath back. Elias' mind became a little less fogged and he finally thought of the counter-spell he should have already thought of and he muttered it, pulling his hands free from behind his back. He shot his hands forward, grabbed Chise's face, and forced his tongue into her mouth, kissing her roughly. She squeaked in surprise but submitted to his invasion gladly. He lifted her up and ripped her still present pajama bottoms from her, throwing them to the floor, running his hands over every part of her body he could reach. She moaned around his tongue at the rough but welcome sensation. He surprised her again when he pulled his tongue from her mouth, turned her around, and pushed her down, so that her front end was pressed to the bed with her rear up in the air. He ran his hands over her rear and then came down in a hard smack, causing her to yelp and moan.

"Oh…yes… Elias…"

He growled at her and brought his already hard again member to her entrance. She whimpered and panted in anticipation, pushing herself backwards. He pushed himself into her to the hilt, a dull thud sounded through the room. Both of them groaned at the sensation and Elias set a rough, fast pace. His hands grabbed her hips roughly and his long, black nails dug into her with an exquisite sting. She writhed in pleasure and clutched at the sheets as she moaned and groaned, lost in the pleasure. He ran his hands down her back to her shoulders, lifting her front end and clamped his jaws over her shoulder, his teeth dug into her and she cried out at the wonderful pain-pleasure it sent through her whole system. She shattered around him and screamed out in her release. He followed a moment after her, his hard pants and growls vibrating her whole body and prolonging her pleasure.

As they both came down from their shared high, Elias released her shoulder from his jaws and pulled Chise into a tight embrace as he fell back against the headboard of the bed. He lapped at the cuts his teeth had caused on her shoulder. He was coming back to himself, gaining back his ability to think clearly. He hated when he lost himself like that, he worried that one of these days he would go to far and hurt Chise unintentionally. He ran his hands over her gently, feeling for any damage he may have caused. A small whimper escaped him that he didn't even notice when he felt the puncture wounds that his fangs had caused on her shoulder and he immediately began to lap at them, trying to impart healing to them. Chise brought her hands up and stroked at his face, running along his jaw in a soothing gesture.

"Elias, I am fine. They don't hurt, and I really enjoyed that. Really, I'm okay." She turned in his lap and put her arms around his neck, kissing his snout and continuing to scratch his jaw.

"I hurt you. I lost control. You just got better, completely healed, and I caused you more injury. I'm sorry."

"Please love, I'm fine, and you didn't hurt me. I needed that, I've missed… this."

"As have I. Though I would have preferred not to have caused you more damage."

"I am fine with this kind of damage. You know very well that I like… things this way. It is a good thing though, that you put that sound proofing spell on the room… I think we would have been heard all the way in the village. We should go to breakfast though, I am now very hungry." She laughed at her own little joke and disentangled herself from his arms, making her way to the wardrobe, and pulling out her clothes for the day.

"You're right. I too am quite hungry now." He rumbled in amusement and rose to dress as well.

They both dressed quickly and made their way down to the kitchen.

As they took their seats at the table, Silky was already laying down plates filled to the brim with food. It was a classic English breakfast that morning; eggs, sausage, potatoes, stewed beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, and toast. Ruth attacked his food as though he hadn't eaten in a week, as he always did, shoving as much food into each mouthful as he could.

Blue sat next to him, eating in an almost dainty manner, trying not to glance at Ruth. It had taken him a few meals to get used to the way that Ruth ate. He understood that the other familiar was, at his core, a dog and acted as such, but it was still something one had to get used to. Normally, he would have had his nose shoved into a book, but he had taken to not doing so and instead interacting with this family he found himself. He had surprised himself with this, as he had never been one to converse and interact with others on his own. He had felt more and more comfortable with them as the last few days had gone by. He thought them all quite interesting. Chise he had found to be very similar to himself in her likes and dislikes, he also thought her general disposition to be one he was drawn to, not just because she was a Slay Vega either. Elias was incredibly engaging, and he found himself liking him more and more. He even found he liked Ruth's company, though he did think at times he could be a bit of a stick in the mud, too serious at time and very unlike most fae in that way.

With Chise needing to heal and recuperate, no one had left the house in the last four days. This had given Blue a chance to get to know them all, and they him. Both Blue and Elias had been surprised by the strength of their bond and continued to be amazed by how quickly they had become comfortable in one another's mind. The more time he spent with all of them, the more he found himself liking this family he had unexpectedly became a part of.

Elias reached out at tipped Chise's chin, so that she was looking him in the eye, "You're sure you feel well enough to go all the way to London today?" His eyes held a look of concern, as well as a bit of guilt at his actions earlier that morning.

She gave him a sweet smile, "Yes, I actually fell great this morning. More energized then I have in days."

"All right. We will leave after breakfast. But, if you feel tired or in pain today I expect you to let me know."

She looked at him in exasperation, "It has been almost two days since I felt any pain. I doubt it will come back with a little walking."

Ruth looked away from her, a slightly guilty set to his shoulders. "Don't worry Elias, if she doesn't tell you, I will."

Chise have a small gasp in mock indignation. "You little traitor!"

Everyone in the kitchen laughed, even Silky tittered silently, the sound was a nice one for all of them as they all had not had many reasons to laugh before they became a family. As the eating came to an end, Silky came around and started collecting the now empty plates and taking them to the sink to be washed. Blue joined her at the sink. It had become a routine over the past few days, after each meal Silky would wash the dishes and Blue would dry them and put them away. Silky seemed to enjoy the help and, even though it had been a few days, still blushed furiously the whole time. Blue found he liked the activity and Silky's company. She may not speak, but he understood her none-the-less. He thought she was oddly entertaining and easy to interact with despite her muteness.

As they finished their task, Elias walked up behind them. "Silky, we will not be back before lunch, but we will definitely be back for dinner. Is there anything you need while we are out?" She nodded and gave a small "hn" before reaching into the pocket of her skirt and handing him a small list. He read through it and, with a nod, put it into his own pocket. "I will make sure to get all this for you. We will see you later this evening."

She followed the man and familiar to the front door, where Chise and Ruth were waiting. They all filed out, Silky waving goodbye as the door closed, seemingly on its own. As the group made their way down the lane towards the village and their ultimate destination of the train station, Ruth and Blue took the lead in their human forms. Their instincts as familiars seeming to push them to take the protective position. Chise and Elias walked behind them, hand in hand. Elias had yet to don his glamour, as he tended to not until they were closer to the village, though he had put his cloth over his skeletal face.

It was beautiful spring day, cool but not cold and the sun shown brightly over the English countryside. A comfortable silence fell over the group as they each reveled in the wonderful weather and the feeling of being outside after so many days spent indoors. The silence persisted for a good while until the sound of giggling interrupted it. They all knew that the giggling heralded the approach of other fae and both Chise and Blue inwardly cringed. Chise did because she knew the sound and the fairies coming their way. It was a group of Aerials and they were not the ones who had greeted her on her first day with Elias. This was a group of different, younger ones and she had already had problems with them before. Just a few weeks earlier she had been forced to ban them from entering the house all together after they had followed Elias around and called him all kinds of horrible things for their own amusement. She knew that the fae had a certain amount of contempt for him because of what he was. Being neither human, fae, nor spirit, but a combination of all three, they seemed to distrust him and treat him badly. However, she would not tolerate them treating him that way in his own home or in front of her. She had even threatened to act as though she couldn't see them if they couldn't be civil to Elias in her presents.

Blue had inwardly cringed because he tried to avoid other fae as much as possible. They were nasty to him because he was different and they fae always disliked anything different from how it should be. He was an oddity and most showed their contempt for his oddness. He had developed a certain immunity to their taunting and name calling, but he was also aware that they treated Elias the same way. He was unsure if he could hold himself or his anger back if they pushed the issue and he was still unsure of how his new family would react to him if he lost control.

Three Aerials came into view and made a bee-line straight for Chise.

"Chise!"

"Beloved Robin!"

"Precious Slay Vega!"

Chise gave them a small, guarded smile. "Hello, you three."

The one who seemed to be the leader of the group and spoke the most for them hovered in front of Chise and gave her an exaggerated and obviously fake frown, "We haven't seen you in forever. We heard that you were hurt, but you never left the house, so we couldn't see how you were. Since we aren't allowed in anymore." The last sentence was said with a sigh and a pout.

"Yes, I was hurt, but Elias saved me, and my family took care of me, so I am all better now."

The fairy looked at Elias with an unkind smirk on her face, "Well, the half-made freak is good for something it seems."

Elias continued to walk, taking no notice of the insult, but if anyone had been looking at Blue they would have noticed his whole body stiffen at the insult. It was Chise who responded though, her voice heated and harsh, "Hey! What have a told you? I was serious! I will not tolerate you being nasty to him!"

The fairy put on a face that was supposed to convey apology, but instead just looked like a dissatisfied grimace, "Yes, I know. We must be civil to your half-made. Though, I do have to say, dear Robin, you do keep the most unusual company. First, it was the half-made and now you have this weirdo, broken Sylph hanging around."

Chise gave an indignant huff, a displeased frown on her face, "Don't say things like that! It is rude and uncalled for. Please, remember what I told you."

A vicious smirk adorned the fairies small face as she looked at their beloved Slay Vega, "Nah-uh sweet Robin, you said we had to be nice to him. That was it. You can't change the deal now."

"Well… Blue is his familiar, so they fall into the same category."

Blue almost groaned aloud. He knew that Chise was trying to help, probably thinking the taunting bothered him, but she had just unknowingly made the situation much worse. Inwardly, he was concerned. Outwardly, he maintained his bored, calm expression and continued walking as though the other fairies had never shown up.

The three Aerials flocked around Blue and completely abandoned any interest in anyone else. The leader gave Blue her same vicious smirk, "So, the weirdo has bound himself to Thorn. What happened with the other guy? I thought you liked being with him."

Blue looked at her blandly, "Oh yes. Who doesn't love being poorly treated?"

It was obvious that he had not given the response they were hoping for and seemed angered by it. "You really are a strange, damaged creature. Why would anyone want to be bonded to you? Even the half-made should be ashamed to have you."

"Ya, weirdo!"

"Broken, rejected thing."

Blue sighed, "How very disappointing. It seems that rumors were wrong."

The Aerials looked at each other in confusion and the leader haughtily asked, "What rumors? What are you talking about, you freak?"

"Oh, just the rumors that all fae had some level of intelligence. You three have categorically proven those rumors to be completely unfounded."

Chise had to suppress a snort, Elias chuckled under his breath, and Ruth, who didn't care what anyone but Chise thought of him, snickered and cracked a huge smile. The three Aerials, however, redoubled their efforts to try and get under Blue's skin. With every insult and jab they made, he continued to respond with sarcastic comments or just ignored them completely.

After spending some time looking angry and frustrated by their lack of response, the leader's eyes wandered to Elias and she suddenly smirked in what only could be described as a mean way. "I have spent this whole time trying to figure out why you would bind yourself to Thorn of all mages and I think I finally figured out the reason why. You were already bound to someone abusive, yes? Maybe he just wasn't doing it for you anymore, maybe he wasn't violent enough. Maybe… since Thorn is nothing but a beast you hoped that would translate to his treatment of you and would mean more of that abuse you love so much."

Chise made an angry noise in her throat and moved forward to say something, but Elias tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her back a half step. When she looked at him to inquire as to why he had stopped her, she saw that his attention was not on her, but on Blue and when she looked at the fairy she understood why. His whole demeanor had changed. Gone was the bored, calm set of his body and face. His arms hung at his sides and his fist were clenched. He had turned to look the offending fairy in the face and he had a look of disgusted anger on his face. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes had turned from their normal bright blue to blue steal. The most jarring thing though was the wind. The breeze had been light and gentle, but now it blew fiercely and whipped his messy locks out of his face. It was quite an intimidating sight to behold, but that seemed to be lost on the Aerials who looked pleased to have finally gotten a reaction.

"You should shut up and leave." Blue said in a surprisingly calm tone, though the anger was evident just under the surface.

The leader scoffed, "You can't tell us what to do. What happened? Did I hit a nerve?"

Blue took a step towards them and brought his hand up, "I don't care what you have to say about me. I am used to such ignorant, ridiculous talk. However, there are very few creatures in this world I deem to give a crap about and most of them happen to be standing before you, and when you say something as disgusting about one of them as you just did, I take it personally. Now, you are correct. I can't tell you what to do. But, I can make you. And with that I bid you good riddance." With that, he twisted his wrist and pushed his palm out, the wind picked up to a gale for a second and then died back to a gentle breeze, and the Aerials were just gone. Not a single trace of them was left and those present couldn't see, smell, hear, or sense them at all. Blue shoved his hands back into his pockets, muttering what sounded like the word trash, turned back towards the village, and continued walking as though nothing had happened.

Chise, Ruth, and Elias all followed his example, too shocked by his uncharacteristic display to say anything. Finally, Chise looked towards him, "Blue, I am so sorry they said such horrible things to you."

Blue sighed and turned himself around, continuing to walk backwards. It was slightly unnerving to watch him do so, as he never had to check behind him to see where he was going. He gave Chise a small smile, "Tell me. Why are you apologizing for the actions of someone else? Did you want them to say such things?"

"Of course not! But, they wouldn't even come around if it wasn't for me."

"So, you asked to be a magnet for every fae in the near vicinity?"

"No, but…"

"Then stop apologizing. You did everything you could to get them to stop their inappropriate behavior and they persisted, so it is not something you need to apologize for. They should apologize for saying something they obviously know to be false."

Chise looked at him in surprise, "What do you mean "something they know to be false" I thought the fae didn't lie?"

"Oh, we don't, but didn't you notice that she said everything as a question? That is how they get away with saying obvious falsehoods. If they phrase what they say as a question or a possibility, then they can get away with it." He noticed Chise was looking at him in shock, he could also sense Elias' shock in his mind. "Wait, you never realized that? You thought this whole time they believed the bull crap they said?"

Chise nodded and Elias gave a sheepish nod, feeling truly foolish that the thought had never crossed his mind. Even Ruth looked at him in surprised, since he had not been born a fae some of the more subtle aspects of fae behavior weren't obvious to him. Blue gave a light snicker, "It is a good thing I am here, it appears you all have yet to grasp how truly tricky was some fae can be."

Elias gave a thoughtful nod, "It is a perspective changing revelation."

Chise gave Blue a look of interest, "What happened to them anyway? Where did they go?"

"Oh, they are about two miles away. I used the wind to send them far enough away that they won't make it back here before we hit the village. Though, they piss me off again, maybe next time I'll send them to Australia."

"You could do that?!"

"Sure. The wind moves across the whole planet in a loop, all I have to do is put the right amount of power into the push to send something the proper distance and the jet streams do the rest."

"Remind me to never piss you off."

Suddenly Blue shot his hand out to Ruth and grabbed his arm, pulling him closer. The grim gave him a disgruntled look, "Hey, what was that for?"

Blue pointed down to the ground where a rather large hole was right in the path Ruth had been walking. "Had you stepped in that, you would have fallen flat on you face. You should really watch were you are going. Though, it probably would have been hilarious."

"Says the guy walking backwards without looking." Ruth said sulkily.

"Which one of us almost fell and which one of us stopped that from happening?"

The group laughed as the village came into view. Elias shifted his shadows and placed his glamour, taking on his normal blond haired, hazel eyed look. They made their way to the train station, people in the streets giving them cheerful greetings and inquiring as to how Chise was doing. It seemed that many had heard about what had happened to her and had been worried.

Once they arrived at the train station, Elias went to buy their tickets as the rest of the group sat on a bench and waited for him to get back and their train to arrive. From the small coffee cart that sat in the waiting area a young girl waved and called out to Chise, "Hey Chise! Come here really quick!" She was about Chise's age and had long, blond hair held in a ponytail that fell to her waist. She wore a brown apron with the logo of the coffee company that ran the cart on it. She smiled warmly at the red head as she walked up. "Hey girly! How are you doing? When Father Simon told us that that creepy guy tried to hurt you, I was really worried. Good thing Mr. Ainsworth stopped him. Too bad he got away before the cops got there."

Chise figured that Simon had concocted a story that was a combination of truth and lies in order to hide the facts of what really happened while still conveying the general seriousness of the situation to the people of the village. She would have to thank him for that later. "Hi Laura. Yeah, I'm just glad that no one else was hurt by him. Did he bother you?"

"Tsk, of course he did! I work here, so I am the first one all the weirdos who get off the train interact with. He asked me all kinds of crap about you and Mr. Ainsworth, but I told him to scram. Wish I would have called the cops though. Especially considering what he did. Anyway, who is that new guy with you today?"

"Oh, that's Elias'… uh… brother."

"Oh, really? Is he staying with you guys?"

"Yeah, he used to live in London, but wanted a change of pace, so now he is going to be living with us." She was pretty proud of that particular statement. It wasn't necessarily a complete lie and made sense. She would have to let everyone else know that was the story she went with so that they could all be on the same page.

"Nice, so is he single? He's really cute, he has that punk sort of look I love. And for that matter, is that older brother of yours single? He is cute too, I have always liked that goth, moody look."

Chise almost laughed. How could she not? She knew what they really looked like and found the whole idea of someone finding them attractive in their human forms particularly amusing. She also found her description of their looks funny. "Uh, yes, they are both single."

"Really?! Put in a good word for me, will you? You are so lucky! You are engaged to Mr. Ainsworth, who is incredibly attractive, and you have two other cuties around you. Though you probably don't find your own brother all that cute, but still."

From the other side of the waiting area, Elias called for Chise as their train had just arrived. "Oh, that is our train. I better get going. I will talk to you later, Laura."

"Yeah, see you. Remember, that good word for me!"

Chise walked up to the group with a slightly amused look on her face. "I'm ready, let's go."

Elias gave her a searching look, "What is that face for, Chise?"

"Oh, that… I will tell you when we get on the train. I think you will find the conversation I just had pretty funny."

"Okay, I look forward to it then."

They made their way onto the train and took their seats. They chose four that faced each other, Chise and Elias sitting on one side and Blue and Ruth on the other side. They settled in and got comfortable as the train started its journey to London.

Elias glanced at Chise, "So, what was so funny?"

"Oh, I just got asked to put in a good word with these two," she gestured to Ruth and Blue, "for Laura. The girl who works at the coffee cart that I was talking to. We make her a medication for her migraines, if you remember."

All three looked at her in utter bewilderment. Elias gave a tilt of his head, "What does that mean?"

Chise laughed at the expressions on all their faces, "She thinks they're cute and wants me to tell them good things about her so that they might consider asking her out."

Now, they all looked shocked. Ruth seemed to have been struck mute by such a revelation, mouth opening and closing similar to a fish out of water, but Blue gave a smirk, "Wouldn't she be surprised if she knew the truth? Sure, Ruth wouldn't have a problem, girls love dogs it seems, but I am less then a foot tall in reality."

"I thought the same thing. Though, apparently, Blue has a punk vibe according to her and Ruth is goth and moody."

They all started laughing, though Ruth gave a small pout, "I am not moody." This had the effect of making them laugh even harder.

Blue glanced around the train car, to make sure that no one was looking their way and when he was sure no one was, he brought his hands together and slid them apart, a book appearing in his palm. Before he could shove his nose into it, Elias gave him a look and seemed to convey his wishes, because the fairy repeated the process and produced another book, the one that Elias had been reading and handed it over. The two set about reading, while Ruth leaned back and immediately fell asleep and Chise occupied herself with playing on her cell phone. She had finally talked Elias into getting her one when she started taking trips to London on her own (accompanied by Ruth, of course) to visit Alice. He had also gotten a house phone which had taken him quite a while to get used to, he disliked the noise it made. He did have to admit though that it made him feel much more comfortable when Chise was out on her own.

They all settled in for the hour and a half train ride to the city.

When they were finally in London, their first destination was Angelica's place. As they entered the shop, Elias dropped his glamour, Ruth and Blue both took their true forms, the latter taking his normal place on Elias' horn. The mage called out into the shop, "Angie, hello… Angelica."

From around the corner, Angelica emerged wiping her hands on a rag. "Oi Ains! Long time no see! I have been hearing the weirdest rumors about you all recently…" She stopped speaking when her eyes fell on Chise's face, specifically her eye. "Good Lord! It looks like the rumors were true! My God Chise, come here, let me get a look at you."

She pulled the girl to her and started looking closely at her face, making angry noises in her throat the closer she looked. "How the hell did this happen?" He looked up at Elias with an angry look on her face. "I thought you were supposed to…" She trailed off as she got a good look at Blue perched on Elias' horn, looking bored as usual, but observing her closely. "Ains, why is there a fairy on your head?"

"Oh yes, Angelica, this is Blue. He is my familiar as of four days ago."

She looked at him in shock, "Why do you always have something crazy going on? I want to hear the whole story, since I have only heard the rumors that have been going around."

Elias gave a sideways glace at Chise and Angelica seemed to catch on to what he was trying to convey. She turned to Chise and gave her a soft, motherly smile, "Chise, you probably would rather not hear us two talk. If you go to the living room, David was just sitting down to have some tea and biscuits and I am sure he would be happy to see you."

"Okay, that sounds great. It has been quite a while since I last got to talk with him. Come on Ruth, I'm sure you want some of those biscuits." They made their way towards the living room, Ruth's tail wagging in anticipation.

"All right Ains, so what happened?" Elias and Blue proceeded to tell her the whole story, which took some time and by the end Angelica was obviously heated. "What an absolute creep! I always disliked him!"

"So, you have met him before?"

"Only once. He came to the shop asking for me to make him something that I categorically refuse to make, and he was absolutely livid when I told him to get lost."

"What is it he wanted you to make?"

"Iron fiber gloves. I never work with the stuff for two reasons, one, it is bad for magic, and two, Hugo won't go near it anyway."

Blue suddenly snapped his fingers, "No wonder I thought you looked familiar. He hated you. Said something about how women need to learn their place, which was apparently barefoot and pregnant."

Elias glanced up, "Were you with him when he came here?"

"No, when he was trying to get those gloves, he tried to hide what he was doing from me. It was supposed to be a surprise after all." The last sentence was said with bitterness.

"If I ever see that bastard again, I am going to kick his ass." Angelica punched her palm for emphasis.

Blue smirked, "You're going to have to get in line."

Angelica leaned back in her chair and regarded Elias and Blue as they stood before her, "You know Ains, you were already a pretty powerful mage and now, with a Sylph as a familiar, you may just be one of the most powerful mages around."

"Yes, I know. Though I could really care less about that bit." Elias had considered that when he had first realized just how powerful Blue truly was and he knew that most mages would use such a bond for their own gain. If he was honest, he would have done the same a few years ago. But, these days, power wasn't all that important to him and he would give up every ounce of his own power if he could just keep Chise alive and happy. He also knew that it would be unfair to Blue to do such a thing and he felt a large amount of responsibility for the familiar's happiness.

"Anyway Ains, what can I do for you today? I am guessing you didn't come today just for story time."

Elias pulled a small list out of the pocket of his robe, along with a folder paper that he had spent days working on the contents of. "Indeed, I have a few things I need, I also have an item I would like to commission from you."

Before Angelica could respond, Blue fell backwards off Elias' horn and landed in his human form behind him. "I am going to go have that tea with Chise. Okay?" He summoned his book to him, stuck his nose in it, and walked down the hall towards the living room before Elias even answered.

Angelica gave Elias an incredulous look, "Is he reading?"

"Indeed, he is. I was surprised by it at first too, though after all he has been through you would expect some eccentricities."

"How bad was it?"

"That fool treated him like garbage and abused him for many years. I believe he got some perverse enjoyment out of abusing him and would do it for fun. The ways he came up with to cope with the life he was stuck in made him abnormal as far as fae go, and you know how the fae treat anything different. It some ways, they treat him worse then the treat me. It is… difficult for him, though I doubt he would ever admit that to anyone else. He shows almost no emotion, though I know he has them since I can sense them in him. He also has developed quite a few neurotic tendencies, mainly centered around hands."

"Hands?"

"Yes, that idiot used those iron fiber gloves imbued with a spell to force his magic from his body and engineered the spell to intentionally cause pain. He would snatch him out of the air and drain him until he almost passed out, even if he didn't need the magic at the time, just to cause him pain. He gets anxious when hands get too close to him and I have taken to not wearing my gloves at home, as he has a bit of an issue with gloves as well. He would never, again, admit it out loud though." When ever Elias considered all the hardship that Blue had to endure and for so long, it caused a pain in his chest and anger to swirl in his belly. If he ever got his hands on that fool of a mage, he would make him pay, for Blue's pain and for the damage he caused to his beloved Chise.

"That guy really is a sick bastard, the lowest of the low. I just hope Blue gets better now that he is with you. You do seem to care for him."

"Yes, he has grown on me quickly. I am very surprised at the strength of our bond, especially since it was initially one of expedience and convenience."

"Ah, well, you can't spend so much time in another being's mind without growing attached. Let's just make sure he stays in his human form around Althea, she has developed a bad habit of grabbing at fae creatures and got bit by Hugo for it the other day. It is the reason I refuse to let her have a familiar yet. Now, what is this commission you have for me?"

Unfolding the piece of paper, Elias handed it to Angelica. If he had been able to make a facial expression, it would have shown his anxiety and anticipation. She looked at it and then gave him a big smile, "So, you are finally going to ask her to marry you in the human way? I am proud of you Ains!"

If he was able to, he would have rolled his eyes, "What do you think? Can you make it?"

"Don't insult me, I can make anything." She took a close look at the paper in her hand and studied the drawing. The ring drawn on the page was comprised of thorned vines intertwined around one another to form the shape and nested on the top was a ruby carved into the shape of a rose. "It is a nice design, though a bit too bulky for a women's finger. I will have to slim it down a bit. But, other than that, I can certainly make this for you. Should take me a week or two. Do you have any spells you would like imbued into it, like her first ring?"

"Actually, I plan on doing that myself. So, all I need you to do, regarding that, is make it able to absorb the spells I will put on it."

Angelica folded the piece of paper back up and stuck it in her pocket, she then picked up the list of the other items he needed from her. "I have all of this in stock. Now, for my favorite part, let's talk price!"

Elias sat in the other chair in the workroom. _This part always takes forever, she enjoys this entirely too much_ , he thought, settling in for the negotiation.

After leaving the workroom, Blue made his way down the hall and into the living room, dropping his book down when he entered the room and gave Chise an acknowledging nod. She sat on the long couch on one side of the room, while David sat in the armchair across from her, and Ruth sat, in his human form, dozing with his arm propping up his head in the other armchair next to David. The Grim had eaten over a dozen chocolate biscuits and was now paying the price with a tummy ache.

"Oh, Blue, decided to have some tea?"

"Yes, they are discussing what Elias needs to buy from her and I find the whole thing rather boring, so I decided I would much rather have some tea."

"Well, come on, sit down." He sat on the other side of the couch, Chise motioned to David, who had been observing the interaction between the two. "Blue, this is David, Angelica's husband. David, this is Blue, he is Elias' familiar."

David gave Blue a kind smile but didn't offer his hand for a handshake. He had lived around the fae long enough to know that most of them were not always comfortable with physical contact with normal humans. "Pleasure to meet you."

Blue gave the man a measured appraisal, with a bit of interest dancing in his eyes. "Likewise. Though, I do have to say, that spell hanging around you is quite interesting especially since it is a wizard's spell and your wife couldn't be the one to have cast it."

David looked mildly surprised, along with a bit amused. "How can you tell all that?"

"It is an ability of my kind. We can see the path and essence of magic. Each spell and incantation has its own unique feel and look to my eyes and senses."

"You're correct, it is a wizard's spell. My father-in-law's specifically." With that, David pulled a necklace out from under his shirt. Attached to the chain was a vial that contained semi-precious stones, herbs, and a liquid of some kind. "It makes it so that I can see fae beings. He said if I was going to live in a home with wall to wall fae flitting about, it was only fair that I be able to see them."

"Makes sense to me. Though I am sure there are plenty of my kind who don't like a normal human being able to see them."

"That's also true… though it has been so many years now that most of those that had an issue with it just don't come around anymore."

Blue gave a nod of understanding, accepted the tea cup that David offered him, and buried his nose back in his book. David seemed nice to him, but he still felt uncomfortable around people he didn't know and when he was uncomfortable he turned to books.

David and Chise continued their small talk. Over the years, the two had become good friends. They both seemed to understand the other and the struggles they both went through. Chise had spent more and more time over at the Burley household, she had been helping Angelica with Althea's training and learning about what a magus craft artificer did, since that was something that Elias couldn't teach her. She thought of Angelica and David almost like an aunt and uncle and Althea as a young cousin. She was so thankful that she had a family now that cared for her as a family should, and even now had an extended family, of sorts.

From the front of the house came a loud bang of a door followed by the high-pitched voice of Althea, "Mama, Papa, I'm home!" After a few minutes, she came into the sitting room and dropped her bookbag by the door. She was in her school uniform, a blue and green plaid skirt, white button-up shirt and a blue blazer. She was now 13 years old and had lost some of the petulance that she had when Chise had first met her. Though, she now had the attitude and mood swings that came with her pre-teen age. She had lost the initial hostility she had felt toward Chise when they had first met and now loved seeing her. "Hi Papa! Oh, hi Chise!"

David gave her a warm, indulgent, fatherly smile, "Hello, my little love, how was school? All done with your testing for the day?"

Chise smiled at her, "Hello Althea."

Althea flopped down on the middle seat of the couch, "Yeah, today was the last day of testing. I hated ever minute of it. I am going to be a mage, why do I need to know how to do square roots or write an essay?"

David gave her a small frown, "You know why. We talked about this. Even if you are a mage, you still need a good education."

Chise nodded, "He is right, Althea. The things you learn at school are just as important as what you learn in your apprenticeship. I still wish I had finished more of high school."

Althea sighed in a very pre-teen sort of way, "Yeah, yeah, I know." She turned her face to Blue and started to stare at him intently, not saying a word, just staring.

Blue could feel her eyes on him and finally lowered his book and glanced at her, "Yes?"

"Who are you? Why is your hair blue?"

It was obvious that he was uncomfortable. It is true that most fae love children and prefer their presence to that of adults, however, Blue had spent very little time interacting with children and found them to be hard to deal with and exasperating with their endless questions and need to be in one's personal space. "I was born that way. My name is Blue."

"How could you be born with Blue hair, people aren't born with blue hair? And, what kind of name is Blue? Sound like someone with no imagination named you." The last comment caused Chise to snicker to herself, as she had thought the same thing when Elias had given Blue him name.

"I am not human, that is how I can be born with blue hair." He chose to ignore the comment about his name.

"So, are you a fairy? I don't know, you don't look very much like a fairy to me."

Blue raised an eyebrow and gestured at Ruth, "Ruth doesn't look like a fairy at the moment either."

"Well, yeah, but I have seen him as a grim. You don't look fae at all and you are reading, so I don't know."

Blue sighed, "If I show you what I look like in my fae form, will you leave me to my book?"

Althea nodded in an exaggerated and excited way.

Elias stood a stretched his large frame. It had been an intense haggling session and he had parted with a large sum, but it was worth it to give Chise the perfect ring and make her his wife in the way of humans. He was excited and anxious, but he knew it was what they both wanted.

Angelica pocketed the check he had given her and stood herself. "Want to go join the others for some tea?"

"Yes, I think that would be best. It seems your daughter is pestering my familiar and making him quite uncomfortable."

Angelica smirked, "Oh, this I have to see."

They walked down the hallway and entered the sitting room. As they did, many things happened quickly and all at once.

In a whirlwind of feathers, Blue transformed into his true form, still on the couch, perched on the arm he had been leaning on. Althea gasped in delight, "Wow, your so pretty!" Her hand shot out at him, to grab him. Chise saw what she was doing and tried to stop her but reacted too slowly. Angelica and Elias both moved to stop her as well, but also moved too slow. The room filled with a huge gust of wind that made everyone blink in surprise. When the wind disappeared, everyone looked around. Althea was no longer on the couch, but on the far side of the room, looking surprised and a bit fearful. Blue was no longer on the couch either, but at first glance it wasn't clear where he was, until Elias gave a sharp intake of breath.

Blue was perched on his horn, completely still except for the rapid rise and fall of his chest and his eyes, which glanced around the room frantically but not looking at anything. His normal aquamarine glow seemed more intense than it normally was. Elias clutched his chest and was breathing heavily, his eyes, however, were trained up at his familiar and it seemed they were communicating through their mental link. Everyone could feel the overwhelming panic that was coming from the small, blue fairy. It appeared that he was unable to control the spill-over of his emotions into the room and it was more than likely that Elias was feeling it most acutely, causing him the same physical pain that his familiar felt.

Angelica ignored the man and familiar next to her and rounded on her daughter, "Althea! What have I told you about grabbing our neighbors?! Didn't you learn anything from the last time you did that?!"

Tears were evident in the girl's eyes, but she didn't let them spill, "I…I didn't mean to! I just…"

Angelica seemed unaffected by her daughter's upset, "How would you like it, young lady, if someone who was so much bigger than you tried to grab you like that?"

Althea's head dropped, "I wouldn't like it at all. I would be scared."

"Exactly! This, this right here, is why you do not have a familiar and won't get one until you learn to show every neighbor the respect they deserve. Never touch them without their consent!"

"I know, Mama. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me! I'm not the one you did this to."

Althea nodded and walked slowly to Elias, who it seemed, had been able to calm Blue enough to pull the fairy out of the panic attack he was having. Blue sat on his horn with his eyes closed, trying to calm himself, and paying no attention to those around him. Elias was no longer glancing up at Blue but looked down at Althea. Any other child would have been scared, but Althea had known him since she was a baby and wasn't scared, but she was obviously intimidated. "I am so sorry, Mr. Ainsworth. I didn't mean to scare him."

Elias put his hand on her head, it covered the whole thing, "Althea, it is all right. But, your mother is correct, it is destressing to our neighbors to be grabbed like that, and for Blue it is doubly so. Please, do not do such a thing again." He gave her a soft pat and removed his hand. "I think, however, that it is time for us to go for now."

Chise and Ruth stood up and said their goodbyes to the Burley family and the group moved to the front of the shop. Elias donned his glamour once Blue had jumped from his perch and took his human form.

As the group walked down the street toward their next destination, Blue was silent and lost in his own thoughts. To say he was mortified was an understatement. He had lost control over his emotions and in the worst way possible. He had reacted without thinking and had attacked a little girl. Logically he knew that she could not have hurt him, but in that moment, he had felt the familiar panic when her hand had come towards him and been unable to stop his reaction. What if he had hurt her? What if he had sent her farther than just across the room? What his new family must think of him! How could they not find his actions unforgivable? He may be Elias' familiar, but they had known that girl for years. Surely, they must put her above him. That was logical to him and made sense. They would more than likely think him dangerous and untrustworthy now. When would the inevitable rejection come and what would things be like for him after it? He didn't want to go back to that loneliness again, but it was what he now expected. He knew he, at least, had to try and convey his remorse over what happened.

In a quite voice and without turning toward anyone, Blue spoke, "I am sorry."

Chise made a noise in her throat and effected a similar tone to the one that Blue always used, "Why are you apologizing for something that isn't your fault?"

Blue was so surprised by what she said that he forgot where he was, turning around to walk backwards in a similar manner to how he had that same morning and his normally bored expression was replaced with one of utter shock, "Of course it was my fault! I know perfectly well that little girl couldn't hurt me. Yet, I still lost control. I could have hurt her."

Chise smiled at him, "But you didn't, did you? That little girl has been around fae since the day she was born, she should know better than to do something like that, especially after what happened the last time she did the same thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, maybe two or three weeks ago she grabbed Hugo, Angelica's familiar, like that and he gave her quite a bad bite. She is still grounded because of it, and I have a feeling that she is going to have another week added on for what she did today."

Blue seemed shocked and shook his head, "I am a powerful fae and have been trained since I was new in this world to control my emotions because they have the possibility of taking me over. It was an unacceptable reaction. I could have really hurt her."

Chise brought her hand to her chin in a contemplative way, "Didn't you say you could send someone to Australia with a single push?" Blue gave an affirming nod. "Then, wouldn't it stand to reason that if you hadn't been in control to some extent, you would have sent her much farther then the other side of the room?"

The shock had not left Blue's face, he just didn't understand this reaction. His normal calm demeanor was completely gone and was replaced with something similar to frustration. "Why? Why are you trying to make me feel better and not mad? You have known her for many years, I would think you would take her side over mine."

"Is that how you want everyone to react?"

"It would make more sense to me then this!"

Chise gave him a sad look, "Everyone reacts the way they have been conditioned to react. You spent years being mistreated and having great pain inflicted on you. I would have been surprised had you let her grab you. You are part of our family and we will always support you when you have a hard time. We all lose control sometimes, if the conditions are right. I have done it plenty of times, so has Elias, even Ruth has. We aren't going to hate you for one moment where you lost control."

Elias nodded, "She is right. This is not something you should feel bad for, as I told you. Althea was not harmed, more startled then anything, and maybe this will finally teach her that she can not treat fae that way."

Ruth chimed in, "When she first saw me in my true form, she grabbed my tail and I growled at her before I even realized what I was doing. That scared her. She was only nine at the time and I am a pretty large dog. She got in trouble then too."

Blue felt both relieved and confused. Their reaction was not one he expected, and it made him feel slightly off kilter. He really had become part of an odd family, odd but wonderful. He gave them all a small smile, "Thank you." He spoke in a quiet, slightly awed voice and turned back to walk normally.

Elias gave Chise a small, appreciative smile and a light squeeze to her hand to convey his thanks. He had tried to make Blue understand that they would not reject him for something so minor, but he knew that it was not as impactful coming from him. Having Chise say the exact same thing without him having to ask her to made him have a wonderful, warm feeling fill his chest. He still could not fathom why someone so pure of heart and filled with so much kindness had chosen to be with him, but he was so thankful that she had. He cleared his throat, "I believe our next stop is this shop you discussed the other day. The one with the specific books you like."

Chise gave him an excited smile, "Yes, the manga shop. It is only a few blocks away."

Blue looked at her with a mirrored excitement in his eyes, the prospect of new reading materials could always brighten his mood.

A few minutes later they stood in front of a small, brightly lit shop with advertisements for a variety of newly released manga plastered over the windows. As they entered, the girl behind the counter greeted them warmly, "Welcome!" She noticed Chise and lit up, "Kon'nichiwa! Moichido kitekurete arigato!" (Hello! Thank you for coming again!) Chise smiled brightly at the women. It was odd for her to have someone speak to her in her native tongue after so many years, but it also was very nice. They all moved around the shop, except for Ruth, who sat in a chair at a table in the center of the room and promptly fell asleep, which was his go to reaction to anything that failed to interest him. Chise moved to a section that held her guilty pleasure, Shoujo manga, and began pulling a few from the shelves what she had wanted to get. Elias went to a section that offered book to learn Japanese; he had wanted, for some time now, to learn Chise's native language and since the shop had such a wide selection of titles on the subject he thought he would get one or two. Blue moved swiftly over the shelves pulling any title that sounded interesting and reading the back to figure out what he might want.

After almost an hour, they were heading out the door. Blue was arguing with Elias over the fact that he had grabbed the large pile of books he had been sifting through and purchased the entire stake. Blue didn't really have a good grasp on how prices and money worked, since the fae had no monetary system and did not deal in such things, but he knew that the 30+ books had been expensive, and he hated having Elias spend that kind of money on him. Elias had tried to explain that it really wasn't that large of a sum for him, as he had amassed quite a fortune over his many centuries, but Blue still felt bad.

It was almost one in the afternoon and Ruth, always with his stomach on his mind, decided to interrupt their discussion, "What are we doing for lunch?"

Elias made a contemplative noise, "You're right. I do think it is time we had lunch. What do you think we should have, Chise?"

"Hhmm, of I know! What about Indian? It has been a while since we had that."

"That sounds very good. What do you think, Blue? Ruth?"

Ruth hummed his assent, already thinking of what he would get. Blue shrugged, "I have never had it. So, I am interested in trying it."

Chise seemed shocked, she had not had much Indian food before she came to England but had fallen in love with it when Elias first brought her to an Indian place. It reminded her of some of the dishes she had enjoyed most in Japan, specifically curry. "You lived in London and never had Indian food? People even call Tikka Masala the unofficial national dish of England."

A smirk formed on Blue's lips, "I never had any kind of real meal when I was with the idiot. He certainly didn't care what I ate. I have actually never eaten a meal in a restaurant."

"What did you actually do about food when you were with him, if he never fed you."

"Oh, I did what I would have done if I had been still free, I hunted."

"Hunted? What did you hunt?"

"Birds mostly. That is what my kind eat in nature, as it were."

Chise seemed almost embarrassed to ask her next question, "Did anyone ever… you know… make a meal for you?"

"No, the first meal I have ever had that was made for me by someone else was the breakfast we had the day after you were kidnapped."

Chise suddenly felt very sad for Blue. Even when she was with relatives that treated her like garbage and hated her very presence in their home, she was still given food. To think that no one had ever given Blue that one, small kindness made her sad. The more she learned of what he had been through in his life, the gladder she was that she had suggested that he become Elias' familiar. Everyone deserved to be treated with at least that level of care. She smiled at him, "Then, you are in for a treat! Indian food is delicious!"

"I look forward to it then."

The Indian restaurant that they went to when in London was a comfortable, little place ran by a family of very friendly, second-generation Punjabi Indians. They remembered them every time they came and seemed genuinely happy that they were repeat customers. The women greeted them and lead them to a table in the corner and passed out the menus.

Blue was glad for his mental link to Elias in times like this because he was able to figure out what he was supposed to do without having to ask and look out of place. He was surprised to find that they way food was ordered was different here then what he would have thought, since most things at seemed to be shared among everyone at the table.

Once everyone had decided, the women returned to take their order and to bring them all tall glasses of mint tea. She smiled warmly at Chise and, in an accent that was a mix of Indian and British, asked what she would like.

"I'm going to get the chicken tikka masala, mild, please."

With a nod, the women then turned to Elias, "The saag paneer, mild as well, thank you," he said with a small, friendly smile.

Ruth decided on the tandoori lamb and Blue decided that the Amritsari fish sounded very good. They also ordered dal, naan, and rice to go along with it. Chise had a sneaking suspicion that the people who owned the place liked them so much because they always ordered so much food whenever they came in.

The meal was very enjoyable for all of them and Blue enjoyed getting to try so many new things. He had been particularly happy with the chutneys that were included with the food and discovered that he really liked the very spicy one and used heaps of it on his food, much the amusement of his fellow dinners and the owners of the shop alike. It was nice to end an emotionally trying morning with a relaxing meal and everyone felt ready to complete the rest of their shopping and head home after.

All in all, it had been a good day, but for a few mishaps. Blue was still shaken by the easy acceptance of, what he still viewed as, his unacceptable behavior in regard to Althea, but he decided that it would be best to view it as the kindness that it was and not let it bother him too much. He had never been a part of a real family and, it appeared to him, that he needed to get used to the acceptance they were so wiling to give him. He only hoped that he would be able to reciprocate their care for him.

Authors Note #2: Quick note: All the translations in this chapter came from Google Translate, so if they are completely terrible... I apologize!  
An IRL question for everyone: Is anyone going to be attending Anime Expo in LA July 5th-8th? If so, I am going to be on staff for the 6th year in a row and would love to meet up with anyone who would be interested! Let me know in the comments or you can send me a private message!  
The next chapter should be out in maybe two weeks... hopefully less! It will be a bit short, but the one after should be much longer. I know this one was a bit Blue-centric and I am sorry for that if it bothers anyone... I wanted to establish some things about him and his mindset, as well as a look at his powers and growing connection to everyone else.  
Thank you all for continuing to read and commenting and all the kudos! It really does mean a lot to me! I am always glad to hear what everyone thinks and I really do read all of them and try to reply when I can. If you have any suggestions or critiques please don't hesitate to PM me!


	7. Rainy Day and Revelations

Authors Note: Another shorter chapter. The next one will be long, like the last one, and my hope is to have it up before I go to Anime Expo on July 4th. Thanks again for all the comments and kudos. I really do enjoy hearing from you all.

It was raining and Chise was not pleased. Not because of the rain itself, she actually didn't mind the rain itself. But, this particular bout of rain was supposed to be accompanied by a storm, a bad storm that was supposed to have thunder and lightning. No matter how she tried, how much effort she put in, how much logic she tried to use, she still was terrified of thunder and lightning. Elias had long ago stopped trying to make her realize it was irrational to be afraid of storms and had just taken to holding her and trying to keep her distracted from them. It helped, and she appreciated it more then she could ever say. They would spend days when a storm was scheduled to hit the area reading, snuggling, and generally doing anything but acknowledging the weather outside. At the moment, they were in the living room, curled up on the couch. Chise had crawled into Elias' lap as the rain had increased, knowing that the harder it rained meant that the main part of the storm was approaching and with it would be the dreaded thunder and lighting. He was reading, but had one arm curled protectively around her, with his large, skeletal head resting over her shoulder, something that always made her feel safe. She had been unable to focus attention on what she had been reading and had abandoned her book on the coffee table, instead her focus had turned to Blue.

Blue had opened one of the windows wide and was sitting staring intently at the raging storm. He was in his fae form, little clawed feet dangling out the window and he was soaked, yet no water passed him to enter the interior of the house. Chise figured he must have put up some kind of barrier to prevent the water from entering the house and raise the ire of Silky. His wings were thrown wide and fluttered slightly. She wondered why he would be soaking himself in the rain and what fascination he had for the raging storm, so she decided to ask.

"Blue?"

He turned his head slightly at hearing her call him and hummed in response.

"Why are you sitting in the rain like that?"

He turned his body so that one clawed foot sat on the windowsill and the other continued to dangle outside, so that he could look at her better. "I am sensing the storm. Storms were always my favorite job when I was still a working Sylph, so to speak."

"Job?"

"Yes. Storms are moved by wind obviously and, since we Sylph create the wind and help to move it where it is supposed to go, we had to be in the storm to do that. I love the wild, untamed nature of storms and the rain always felt so nice to fly through. By the way, you should relax a bit. There is still another hour or so before we will start to here the thunder and about thirty minutes more after that before we will even see the lightning."

Chise looked at him in surprise, "You can tell how long it will take?"

Blue brought his hand to his chin in a contemplative way, "Well, yes. I am not accurate to the minute with it. I would have to be much higher in the sky to be completely accurate, but what I said is about right, give or take about five minutes." He gave her a thoughtful look. "I wonder… do you think you would like to see how it feels for me? It might make you feel a bit better about the storm since you would understand more fully what I mean."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "You could do that?"

Blue shrugged lightly, "Sure, it's similar to the memory sharing I used with that priest the other day. It might feel weird to you, since you will feel what I do, and I sense the world so differently from the way you do. Also, you may feel as though you have wings, which I can only imagine will be odd to someone who doesn't have them."

Chise looked a little unsure, but her boundless curiosity seemed to overcome her apprehension. She gave a small nod, "All right. It sounds interesting at least."

"Come over here then, it will work better if you are looking out at the storm." He got up from the ledge he was sitting on and flapped his wings, sending the water that had been collecting on his feathers off and waved his hand over himself, becoming completely dry with a small burst of wind.

Chise disentangled herself out of Elias' lap, giving him a quick kiss on the end of his snout, and walked to the open window. She immediately missed the warm comfort of her fiancé's lap, as she always did after being in his embrace.

Elias was happy to let her up. He had found over the last week or so that Blue was an excellent asset in Chise's magical education. He had been able to teach her many new things that he had previously been only able to teach in the abstract, through books. The fairy seemed to have a natural knack for teaching and gave very helpful insight into how and why a spell worked the way it did. He was able to use his vast knowledge of the nature of magic and its flow to make a particular spell make sense. She seemed to perfect her techniques much faster with this added knowledge. Even Elias himself was gaining more knowledge then he had previously known, something he found immensely pleasurable, as he had always craved as much knowledge as he could acquire.

Chise approached the window and looked at Blue as he hovered at her eye level, "What do I need to do?"

"Just stand there and look out. I am going to sit on your shoulder and touch your temple. It may feel a bit disorienting at first, as I am going to push my way into your consciousness. It won't hurt or anything and since you are used to having someone else in your head, it won't be disorienting for long." He settled himself on her shoulder, "I am not too heavy for you right here?"

Chise shook her head in the negative as she took a deep breath. Blue reached out with his small hand and placed it on her temple, his aquamarine glow intensifying as he focused his magic into her. She felt a slight pressure in her mind, not uncomfortable, but strange no-the-less. Had she been able to see her own face, she would have seen her eyes shift from their normal verdant color to the blight blue of her fiancé's familiar. She could feel power flow into her, a similar sensation to when Ruth shared his magic with her, but this made her feel light as air and like she could almost float. Her perspective of the world around her shifted and she could feel the air around her as if she was a part of it. In the distance, the raging storm felt so very different. It was as though she could feel each cloud, each rain drop, the electricity in the approaching main part of the storm. Her back felt itchy, similar to what it felt like when she needed to move her arms and she realized that she must be sensing Blue's wings on her own back. The experience was a wholly new one for her and incredibly fascinating. She could sense other fae very high up in the heart of the storm and wondered to herself if they were other Sylph, like Blue. They stayed that way for a few minutes, until Blue pulled his hand from her temple and she came back to her own senses.

He removed himself from her shoulder and took his human form. He gave her an inquisitive, slightly mischievous look. "What did you think?"

"That was… amazing… different… the feeling of wings was weird though."

Blue smirked, "I figured that would be the case." He gave a small, involuntary shiver. "Your magic really is so close to fae, it is almost the same."

She made her way back to the couch and sat back in Elias' lap with a small frown, "What do you mean?"

Blue flung himself into the armchair with his legs dangling over the armrest, "I don't know if it is the same for all fae, but when I share my magic with someone, I can taste the magic of the person I share with. Everyone is different in their taste to me. You taste of flowers and sweet, green things, which is how most fae magic tastes."

Ruth lifted his head off his paws from where he lay in front of the fireplace, "It's the same for me."

Blue placed his arms behind his head, "Ah, I see. So, it may be like that for all fae then."

Chise giggled lightly, "I am glad I taste okay then." She reached up and scratched the underside of Elias' jaw absentmindedly, who responded with a soft purr in his chest.

"Like I said, everyone tastes different. The idiot tasted awful, like something acidic and burnt." Blue refused the use the Iron Mages name or title and preferred to refer to him as the idiot or the fool. "I believe it has something to do with someone's heart and soul. When a person's heart and soul are tainted, it causes their whole magic being to become tainted as well."

Chise nodded in understanding, "What does Elias taste like?" She could feel the light chuckle he gave at her question.

"Hhmm, well, it is richer then any I have experienced. Honestly, it reminds me of a sweet, lightly fruity wine with a hint of something slightly animal."

Chise's mouth made a perfect "o" and her cheeks turned almost the same color as her hair. Everyone in the room looked at her in confusion at her odd reaction to what Blue had said. It was then that Ruth gave a huff of discomfort and looked at Chise, "Too much information, Chise."

Now, Blue and Elias looked at each other and a light clicked on in the Sylph's head, "You… uh… know what I am talking about with that flavor, don't you?" Chise gave an almost imperceptible nod, still red faced and looking no one in the eye. Blue looked at Elias again, "Same for you too?" Elias nodded at his familiar.

Blue had gotten up from his seat and was passing around the room, a thoughtful look on his face. "I am going to ask you something Chise that is going to be very embarrassing for you, but please be honest. Since you first experienced that taste… in that context… have you felt as tired or fatigued as you used to when using magic?" Elias saw where he was going with this and looked at Chise to see her response.

Chise frowned lightly and thought back, "No… no I haven't had to sleep nearly as much as I used to."

Blue stopped his passing and seemed to lose himself in thought. This happened on occasion, when something occupied his mind completely, he would lose himself in thought and as a consequence would completely shut out everything around him. He would even close his mind to Elias, which was an uncomfortable feeling to the Thorn Mage, as he had become used to having the presence. Elias snapped his jaw shut with a loud "click" that had the effect of snapping Blue out of his thoughts. Blue looked at him sheepishly, "Sorry. I did it again, didn't I?"

"It's fine. But, what are you thinking?"

"I believe you two have been inadvertently sharing magic back and forth. Consequently, I believe that it has been both removing Chise's excess magic and replenishing her at the same time. Balancing her out. If we can find a way to have it constantly happen, we may have found a way to extend her life considerably. I am unsure of how that could be achieved, but I will continue to consider it and may be able to think of something."

There was a palpable air of anticipation in the room. They could all tell that this could finally be something that would be promising. After almost five years of looking for a solution to their biggest problem, they may have finally found the start of an answer. Elias could feel the hope blooming in his chest. If he could finally have an answer to keeping his precious Chise by his side, he would give anything, all his magic if it was required. Hope was a beautiful and terrible thing, it gave one drive, but could also drive one insane.


End file.
